Letnik XXX, številka 5-6, 2019 ^ Revija za teorijo in raziskave vzgoje in izobraževanja Šolsko polje Civic, citizenship, and rhetorical education in a rapidly changing world Editors: Janja Zmavc and Plamen Mirazchiyski Šolsko polje Revija za teorijo in raziskave vzgoje in izobraževanja Letnik XXX, številka 5-6, 2019 Šolsko polje je mednarodna revija za teorijo ter raziskave vzgoje in izobraževanja z mednarodnim uredniškim odborom. Objavlja znanstvene in strokovne članke s širšega področja vzgoje in izobraževanja ter edukacij-skih raziskav (filozofija vzgoje, sociologija izobraževanja, uporabna epistemologija, razvojna psihologija, pedagogika, andragogika, pedagoška metodologija itd.), pregledne članke z omenjenih področij ter recenzije tako domačih kot tujih monografij s področja vzgoje in izobraževanja. Revija izhaja trikrat letno. Izdaja jo Slovensko društvo raziskovalcev šolskega polja. Poglavitni namen revije je prispevati k razvoju edukacijskih ved in interdisciplinarnemu pristopu k teoretičnim in praktičnim vprašanjem vzgoje in izobraževanja. V tem okviru revija posebno pozornost namenja razvijanju slovenske znanstvene in strokovne terminologije ter konceptov na področju vzgoje in izobraževanja ter raziskovalnim paradigmam s področja edukacijskih raziskav v okviru družboslovno-humanističnih ved. Uredništvo: Sabina Autor, Igor Bijuklič, Rajka Bračun Sova, Eva Klemenčič, Ana Kozina, Ana Mlekuž, Mitja Sardoč , Valerija Vendramin, Janja Žmavc Glavna in odgovorna urednica: Urška Stremfel (Pedagoški inštitut, Ljubljana) Uredniški odbor: Michael W. Apple (University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA), Eva D. Bahovec (Filozofska fakulteta, Univerza v Ljubljani), Andreja Barle-Lakota (Urad za šolstvo, Ministrstvo za šolstvo in šport RS), Valentin Bucik (Filozofska fakulteta, Univerza v Ljubljani), Harry Brighouse (University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA), Randall Curren (University of Rochester, USA), Slavko Gaber (Pedagoška fakulteta, Univerza v Ljubljani), Milena Ivanuš-Grmek (Pedagoška fakulteta, Univerza v Mariboru), Russell Jacoby (University of California, Los Angeles), Janez Justin t (Pedagoški inštitut, Ljubljana), Stane Košir (Pedagoška fakulteta, Univerza v Ljubljani), Janez Kolenc t (Pedagoški inštitut, Ljubljana), Ljubica Marjanovič-Umek (Filozofska fakulteta, Univerza v Ljubljani), Rastko Močnik (Filozofska fakulteta, Univerza v Ljubljani), Zoran Pavlo-vic (Svetovalni center za otroke, mladostnike in starše, Ljubljana), Drago B. Rotar (Fakulteta za humanistične študije, Univerza na Primorskem), Harvey Siegel (University of Miami, USA), Marjan Setinc (Slovensko društvo raziskovalcev šolskega polja, Ljubljana), Pavel Zgaga (Pedagoška fakulteta, Univerza v Ljubljani), Maja Zupančič (Filozofska fakulteta, Univerza v Ljubljani), Robi Kroflič (Filozofska fakulteta, Univerza v Ljubljani), Marie-Helene Esteoule Exel (Universite Stendhal Grenoble III) Lektor (slovenskijezik), tehnični urednik, oblikovanje in prelom: Jonatan Vinkler Lektor (angleškijezik): Jason Brendon Batson Izdajatelja: Slovensko društvo raziskovalcev šolskega polja in Pedagoški inštitut © Slovensko društvo raziskovalcev šolskega polja in Pedagoški inštitut Tisk: Grafika 3000 d.o.o., Dob Naklada: 400 izvodov Revija Šolsko polje je vključena v naslednje indekse in baze podatkov: Contents Pages in Education; EBSCO; Education Research Abstracts; International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS); Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts (LLBA); Multicultural Education Abstracts; Pais International; ProQuest Social Sciences Journal, Research into Higher Education Abstracts; Social Services Abstracts; Sociological Abstracts; Worldwide Political Science Abstracts Solsko polje izhaja s finančno podporo Pedagoškega inštituta in Javne agencije za raziskovalno dejavnost Republike Slovenije. Tiskana izdaja: ISSN 1581-6036 Spletna izdaja: ISSN 1581-6044 DOI: https://www.doi.org/i0.32320/i58i-6044.30(5-6) Letnik XXX, številka 5-6, 2019 Revija za teorijo in raziskave vzgoje in izobraževanja Šolsko polje Civic, citizenship, and rhetorical education in a rapidly changing world Editors: Janja Žmavc and Plamen Mirazchiyski SF Content Janja Žmavc and Plamen Mirazchiyski 5 Civic, citizenship and rhetorical education in a rapidly changing world CIVIC AND CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION Ines Elezovic 15 Civic and citizenship education in the Republic of Croatia: 20 years of implementation Marinko Banjac 37 Knowledge on political participation among basic school pupils: A look at the results from the National Assessment of Knowledge in the course Patriotic and Citizenship Culture and Ethics in the 2018/2019 School Year Mojca Rožman and Diego Cortés 63 Expected political participation and demographic changes in Europe Špela Javornik, Plamen Mirazchiyski and Nada Trunk Širca 79 Bullying of eighth graders in Slovenian primary schools (Secondary analysis of ICCS 2016) RHETORICAL EDUCATION Foteini Egglezou 101 Debate at the Edge of Critical Pedagogy and Rhetorical Paideia. Cultivating Active Citizens Petra Aczél 121 A Road to Rhetorica: Teaching Rhetoric as Social Sensitivity and Behaviour 3 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 Igor Ž. Žagar 141 Slovenian Experience with Rhetoric in Primary Schools Mojca Cestnik 159 Experiences in Teaching Rhetoric as an Elective Course in Primary School BOOK REVIEWS 171 Book reviews 185 Povzetki/Abstracts 197 O avtorjih/About authors 4 Civic, citizenship and rhetorical education in a rapidly changing world Janja Zmavc Plamen Mirazchiyski Today's youth are tomorrow's future. A truism, which is quite often used in different context, including education. Besides being well educated in core subjects, we expect that the youth of tomorrow's future will also be informed and knowledgeable citizens, critical and active participants in social and political processes that understand and master principles of persuasive language use. Undoubtedly, civic, citizenship education and rhetoric - if we summarize the above description with these notions - are highly interrelated topics that permeate modern education in terms of its aims and goals. This is the reason why we decided to draw up a joint issue and point out some features of the contemporary development of civics, citizenship and rhetoric as independent educational topics as well as their pedagogies, and in particular, to highlight close conceptual and historical links between the fields, which should be kept in mind when we develop curricula, educational programs, specific subjects with goals such as "knowledgeable citizens", "critical thinkers", "active participants". Although the goals of civic and citizenship education seem to be more or less consistent, the content and organization take a variety of forms in different subjects across the countries around the world. Besides its variety, in the last decades some serious challenges have been faced: (1) social and political issues are not pertinent to particular countries only, but have international reverberations; (2) the countries and the entire world are not static, but change rapidly; and (3) the mass migration of people. 5 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 One of the major challenges to civic and citizenship education is the globalization of the modern world and the national boundaries on the one hand and the national boundaries of the curriculum on the other. While the nation state is easier to understand and control, the global communities are less predictable. The national curriculum is more focused on the national structures and issues, emphasizing less the international ones (Reynolds, 2012). Of course, this is expected since we all (even under the European Union) still live in nation states with their own cultures and specific traits of the social and political systems; this is related to the national curricula on the subject. In addition to this issue, there have been worldwide rapid changes affecting the entire planet with repercussions on regional, country and local levels. With the advance of technologies in the last decades, these repercussions have become instant and the changes apply much faster than they used to do in the past. A new form of citizenship, the digital one, came about - taking part in internet activities affects how we think, communicate and participate in society, which results in adopting new perspectives towards the self, others, the communities and the entire world. This process makes the boundaries between online and offline activities more transparent for the more digitally-oriented generations, making the Internet an empowering space for active engagement in civic life in a way that is closely related to the traditional forms, and even going beyond them (Choi, 2016). In addition, there is the issue of the mass migration of people - some of them as a normal consequence of the globalizing world, others as refugees from war zones and chaos. This also complicated the development of civics and citizenship education due to the rise of multiple issues like populism and nationalism around the world (Banks, 2017). Rhetorical education, on the other hand, has an enviably long tradition when it comes to facing social changes. With more than 2000 years of perpetual ups and downs with regard to its reputation, rhetoric is a constantly present topic throughout the education in Europe and America and offers an important insight into how to make sense of educational content in a concrete, time and place specific socio-cultural context (Glenn, Lyday and Sharer, 2009). Commonly defined as the art of successful (public) persuasion, rhetoric is closely associated with the development and conception of democracy and citizenship culture in the European historical and cultural space with its origin in the Greek polis, Athenian democracy and Roman res publica. Namely, rhetoric was never (only) an art of speaking well, as it is still perceived in the everyday notions as well as in certain academic discourses, which emphasise merely its long tradition in writing instructions 6 J. ZMAVC IN P. MIRAZCHIYSKI ■ CIVIC, CITIZENSHIP AND RHETORICAL EDUCATION ... and literary composition. As a complex discipline, rhetoric should primarily be understood in the classical Greco-Roman social perspective, that is as a civic competence, which is crucial for an individual's successful active social engagement. With its clear inscription of the relation of language and power in a specific cultural moment, rhetoric thus represents an important, yet controversial topic of education. For example, despite the ideal general orientation of rhetorical education to shape all citizens for public participation (which for the most part of history represented men of the upper class who were trained for public leadership positions), the question of "who should receive rhetorical education, in what form, and for what purpose" even nowadays makes it a slippery concept in terms of a theory or a practical application (Glenn, 2004, p. viii). It should not come as a surprise, that modern theories of rhetoric and rhetorical education see rhetorical education as one of the key elements of modern citizenship education and they advocate for a systematic teaching of rhetoric, which includes modern conceptualizations of (active) citizenship, democracy, interculturality, etc. (Danisch, 2015; Ferry, 2017; Kock and Villadsen, 2012, 2017). On the other hand, any modern rhetorical education that is firmly grounded on the classical perspective provides a support for the humanities paradigm, which opposes the current profit-oriented education (Nussbaum, 2012) and places arts and humanities (and rhetoric along with them) at the centre of modern education for democracy. Consequently, as it has been known to happen many times before in the history of education (Conely, 1994), the role and importance of rhetoric as an educational topic is again being deliberated in the context of various education systems in Europe, either at the level of integration of rhetoric in the National Curricula as a part of existing subjects (Aczel, 2019, Bakken, 2019; Kjeldsen and Grue, 2011), or designing (new) educational content or programmes (Dainville and Sans, 2016; Zagar Z. et al., 1999/2004; Zmavc et al., 2018) or at the level of raising awareness of the importance of mastering rhetoric as a part of 21st century competence and skills (Holmes-Henderson, 2016). However, rhetorical education can hardly be reduced solely to the traditional composition perspective or its current social and civic aspects. There is also the "interactive" perspective of rhetoric, which originates in the well-known classical conceptions of public persuasion as a communicative act between the speaker, the audience and the speech. Thus, as a communication practice, rhetoric in the context of education should be seen (also) as transversal, a transferable skill that is relevant in different school and learning situations. Its role, within the pedagogical process, is particularly important since mastering rhetorical and argumentation principles influences especially the success 7 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 of knowledge co-creation, the effectiveness of the pedagogical process, the dynamics of interpersonal relationships and the formation of self-image of all participants in the pedagogical process (Zmavc, 2016). We have briefly outlined the main points that concern contemporary civic, citizenship and rhetorical education. Multiple articles in this special issue address some of them in a much more thorough manner, opening new perspectives on how to see their role in contemporary education and also pointing out problems that arise with modern conceptions and definitions of historically grounded concepts, notions, and ideas such as rhetoric, persuasion, democracy, citizenship, critical thinking, ethics etc. In the first part of the publication, the articles focus on civic and citizenship education. Contributions from Ines Elezovic and Marinko Ban-jac discuss the civic and citizenship curriculum and the acquisition of civic and citizenship knowledge in Croatia and Slovenia respectively. The articles review the context of teaching and learning the subject at school. The article from Ines Elezovic titled Civic and citizenship education in the Republic of Croatia: 20 years of implementation brings the results from the IEA's International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) 2016 within the scope of the overview of the developments in the subject in Croatia since 1995. In his article Knowledge on political participation among basic school pupils: a look at the results from the National Assessment of Kno wledge in the course Patriotic and Citizenship Culture and Ethics in the 2018/2019 School Year Marinko Banjac uses the results of knowledge of political participation from the latest Slovenian national study of the Patriotic and Citizenship Culture and Ethics subject (part of the National Assessment of Knowledge). In the article titled Expected political participation and demographic changes in Europe Mojca Rozman and Diego Cortés aim to investigate whether the recent immigration-related demographic change in Europe can be associated with changes in expected political participation of young adults. The article uses Slovenian data from IEA's ICCS cycles conducted in 2009 and 2016, as well as data from national statistics and voter turnout database. The article Bullying of eighth graders in Slovenian primary schools (secondary analysis of ICCS 2016) from Spela Jarovnik, Plamen Mirazchi-yski and Nada Trunk Sirca focuses on bullying at school, its frequency and relationship with contextual and background factors using data from the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) 2016. An interesting finding from this study, which deserves further research, is 8 J. ZMAVC IN P. MIRAZCHIYSKI ■ CIVIC, CITIZENSHIP AND RHETORICAL EDUCATION ... that students who have higher civic knowledge tend to be bullied less often compared to the less knowledgeable students. In the second part of the publication, four authors discuss rhetoric and its social (i.e. civic and educational) role from various theoretical perspectives. They also present their development of teaching models and practices, as well as explore the role of rhetoric in the context of education for active citizenship. The reading of these articles shows that we can still talk about the problems of diversifying the ever-heterogeneous field of rhetoric and rhetorical education, which accompanies this discipline from the time when Greek philosophers first exposed the problem of definition and scope of rhetoric. Despite the technological and social transformations that present a new challenge for rhetorical theories and practice, one thing may be certain: ancient (Ciceronian) ideas of the liberal education of the speaker-citizen as a pursuit of humanitas, which represents a process of a comprehensive (even personal) formation of the knowledgeable speaker, who only gives true meaning to the social benefit of rhetoric, is likely to remain one of the key needs even in modern times and societies. In the article Debate at the Edge of Critical Pedagogy and Rhetorical Paideia. Cultivating Active Citizens Foteini Egglezou examines the concepts of rhetorical paideia and critical pedagogy through the analysis of the educational practice of debate and its possibility of cultivating active students-citizens. Debate as a multi-dynamic practice inevitably collides with rhetorical tradition on a conceptual and practical level. However, in order to be able to understand the differences between the two it is necessary to consider theoretical conceptions from the fields of rhetoric and argumentation, as well as historically grounded notions such as for example agon and dissoi logoi. In the article A Road to Rhetorica: Teaching Rhetoric as Social Sensitivity and Behaviour Petra Aczel offers her reconceptualization of rhetoric as the study of social sensitivity and behaviour. Revising the presently domineering Hungarian and Central-European educational practices of rhetoric, she presents a new three-layered teaching program of rhetoric that focuses on rhetorical sensitivity and includes three, in her opinion, of the most important skills for the 21st century: critical thinking, creativity and connecting/debating with others. In the article titled Slovenian Experience with Rhetoric in Primary Schools Igor Z. Zagar presents the unique situation of teaching rhetoric in Slovenia as a compulsory elective subject in primary school. As the main author of the first syllabus and the editor of the textbook, he explains the conceptual background of the structure of the syllabus and provides a general evaluation of its practical realisation. His findings repre- 9 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 sent an important basis for the current revision of the syllabus, as well as for the introduction of rhetoric into secondary schools, which are a part of the project that has been going on at the Educational Research Institute since 2018. In the last article Experiences In Teaching Rhetoric As An Elective Course In Primary School Mojca Cestnik presents her extensive experience with teaching rhetoric in primary school. With a thorough description of didactic challenges, she argues for the need to teach rhetoric in primary school. She also outlines the important role of a teacher of rhetoric in primary school as a valuable expert in the area of pedagogical communication, who can enable better collaboration with teachers from the first to the ninth grade, as well as help properly unify the standards for oral performances at school. Three reviews are included in this issue. The first one is a review of the book on "digital citizenship", issued by the Council of Europe (Frau-Meigs et al., 2017). The book titled Digital citizenship education: Volume 1 - Overview and new perspectives provides extensive overview of 14 of the existing frameworks and definitions of the concept of digital citizenship and brings the link between the national policies on the topic of technological industry. It further explores the concept of digital citizenship and how the digital culture determines practices aiming at long-term experiential strategies which, in turn, contribute to participatory and inclusive approaches of digital citizenship education. A special focus of the book is the relationship between the social literacy and the digital environment. The book also provides recommendations for further development and implementation of strategies towards digital citizenship education. A second review from Lucija Klun presents Peter Strandbrink's book Civic Education & Liberal democracy: Making Post-Normative Citizens in Normative Political Spaces. The book exposes the inherent and (reproduced tensions in civic and citizenship education. These tensions, along with their collateral consequences, do not provide a sustainable way for implementing "canonized civics and citizenship" into the education process. Strandbrink provides detailed reasons for this, mainly because the authorities do not possess such power over teaching, processes and content, and, even if they would have, they could not control the input (teaching, content, etc.) and the output (acquired by the students). In this relation also comes the input from other disciplines, as well as the input from other contexts, i.e. beyond that of the educational system. Strandbrink points other issues, like the selection and framework of values, minimalist and maximalist conceptualization of civic and citizenship education and their consequences, among many other. 10 J. ZMAVC IN P. MIRAZCHIYSKI ■ CIVIC, CITIZENSHIP AND RHETORICAL EDUCATION ... A third review presents Mirjana Zeljezic's critical account of the book Rhetoric and the Global Turn in Higher Education (Minnix, 2018), which is an extensive study of the role of rhetorical education within global higher education in the USA. The monograph is built upon an appreciation of a strong bond between rhetorical education and power relations, arguing against viewing (global) higher education as a neutral movement, but rather as a site of conflict between competing ideologies and political interests. References Aczél, P. (2019) Teaching Rhetoric. A Proposal to Renew Rhetorical Education in Hungarian and Central European Contexts. Govor (In press). Bakken, J. (2019) The integration of rhetoric into existing school subjects. Utbildning &Demokrati 28(2), pp. 93-108. Banks, J. A. (2017) Failed Citizenship and Transformative Civic Education. Educational Researcher 46(7), pp. 366-377. https://doi. org/i0.3i02/00i3i89Xi772 674i Choi, M. (2016) A Concept Analysis of Digital Citizenship for Democratic Citizenship Education in the Internet Age. Theory & Research in Social Education 44(4), pp. 565-607. https://doi.org/i0.i0 8 0/0 0 933i04.2 016.1210549 Conely, T. M. (1994). Rhetoric in the European Tradition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Dainville, J., and Sans, B. (2016) Teaching Rhetoric Today: Ancient Exercises for Contemporary Citizens. Educational Research and Reviews 11(20), pp. 1925-1930. https://doi.org/10.5897/ERR2016.3003 Danisch, R. (2015) Building a Social Democracy: The Promise of Rhetorical Pragmatism. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. Ferry, V. (2017) Exercising Empathy: Ancient Rhetorical Tools for Intercultural Communication. Nordicum-Mediteraneum 12(3), s.p. https:// nome.unak.is/wordpress/author/ferry/(27. 11. 2019) Frau-Meigs, D., O'Neill, B., Soriani, A., and Tomé, V. (2017) Digital citizenship education: Volume 1 - Overview and new perspectives. Strasbourg: Council of Europe. Glenn, C., Lyday, M., and Sharer, W. (2009) Rhetorical Education in America. Tuscaloosa, Alabama: University Alabama Press. Glenn, C., (2009) Rhetorical Education in America (A Broad Stroke Introduction). In Glenn, C., Lyday, M., and Sharer, W. (eds.). Rhetorical Education in America, pp. I-XVI. Tuscaloosa, Alabama: University Alabama Press. 11 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 Holmes—Henderson, A. (2016) Responsible Citizenship and Critical skills in Scotland's Curriculum for Excellence: The contribution of Classical Rhetoric to Democratic Deliberation. In Carr, P., Thomas, P., Por-filio, B., Gorlewski, J. (eds.), Democracy and decency: what does education have to do with it?, pp. 213-228. Charlotte: Information Age Publishers. Kjeldsen, J. E., and Grue, J. (eds.) (2011) Scandinavian Studies in Rhetoric. Rhetorica Scandinavica 1997-2010 https://www.retorikforlaget.se/ scandinavian-studies-in-rhetoric-introduction/ (27. 11. 2019). Kock, C., and Villadsen, L. V. (2012) Rhetorical Citizenship and Public Deliberation. The Pennsylvania State University: Penn State University Press. Kock, C., and Villadsen, L. V. (2017) Rhetorical citizenship: studying the discursive crafting and enactment of citizenship. Citizenship Studies 21(5), pp. 570-586, DOI: 10.1080/13621025.2017.1316360 Minnix, C. (2018) Rhetoric and the Global Turn in Higher Education. San Jose: Palgrave Macmillan. Nussbaum, M. C. (2012) Not For Profit. Why Democracy Needs Humanities. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Reynolds, R. (2012) Civics and Citizenship Education in Its Global Context: The Complexity of Global Citizenship Dialogues. Education Sciences 2(4), pp. 190-192. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci2040190 Žagar, Ž., I., Močnik, R., Pešec Zadravec, R., and Pavlin, M. (1999) Učni načrt. Program osnovna šola. Retorika [Elektronski vir] https://www.gov. si/assets/ministrstva/MIZS/Dokumenti/Osnovna-sola/Ucni-nacrti/ izbirni/i-letni-vezani-na-razred/9-razred/Retorika_izbirni.pdf (27. 11. 2019) Žmavc, J. (2016) Rhetoric and argumentation as factors in student achievement. In Štremfel, U. (ed.). Student (under)achievement:perspectives, approaches, challenges, pp. 199-222. Ljubljana: Pedagoški inštitut. Žmavc, J., Cestnik, M., and Žagar, Ž., I. (2018) Posodobitev učnega načrta za obvezni izbirni predmet retorika v osnovni šoli: (predlog). Ljubljana: Pedagoški inštitut. DOI: https://www.doi.org/io.3232o/i58i-6o44.3o(5-6)5-i2 12 civic AND CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION Civic and citizenship education in the Republic of Croatia: 20 years of implementation Ines Elezovic Introduction: General characteristics of Croatia and its schooling system The Republic of Croatia is the Central European and Mediterranean country that gained its independence in 1991 after the breakdown of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. According to the latest census (2011), the overall population of Croatia was over four million people but due to the constant emigration flows and negative population growth in recent years, current estimates indicate that this number is below four million inhabitants in 2019. The majority of the population is of Croatian nationality (90%) with 10 national minority groups namely recognized by the Constitution of which the Serbian minority is the largest (4%), followed by Italian, Bosnian, Hungarian, Albanian, Roma etc. minority. The most represented religion is Catholic (86%), 4% are Orthodox and 1,5% of Muslim religion (2011 census data). The Croatian language with Latin letters is formal language and letter. National minorities can have their language, letter and culture acknowledged within the schooling system in the form of three programs for which each school can apply: Model A - national minority school with a complete program in the language and letter of the minority, Model B - school in which classes are dual taught, only social science subjects are taught in the minority language and all other subjects are taught in the Croatian language and Model C - a regular program that is taught in the Croatian language and there are additional classes per week to nurture the minority language and culture. 15 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 Croatia is a democratic parliamentary republic with a separation of three types of rule - legislative, executive and judicial. The unicameral parliament is the highest representative body in the legislative branch and can have between 100 and 150 representatives. National minorities have eight representatives in the parliament. The head of state is the president and the prime minister is the head of the government which consists of 20 ministers. There is a universal right to vote for all citizens 18 years old and older. Croatia became the European Union member state in 2013. At the last parliamentary elections in 2016, citizens' turnout was a little over 50% while turnout to European parliament elections were still low (29% in 2019, similar to Czech Republic and Slovenia). The estimate of Croatian GDP per capita for 2018 was $27 664 which positions Croatia at the back of EU member countries. The current unemployment rate in Croatia (6,8%) is very similar to the EU average. Description of the basic structure of the Croatian education system The education system is in most areas centralized and the power lies at the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Croatia. However, the rights and duties of the founders of elementary schools are performed by cities and counties for high schoolsi, and both have an important role for allocating funds and cooperating with schools on staffing matters. On the ISCED 0 level are nurseries for children under the age 3, followed by the kindergartens and preschool programs. Preschool programs are very unevenly dispersed and attended throughout the country (from almost 90% of children in Zagreb to 19% of children in one Eastern Croatia county), but on average the involvement is much lover that the overall EU average (95% in 2016, Eurostat). At the age of 6 and/or 7 years old, children start attending primary education for a duration of eight years (ISCED 1 and 2). Only primary schools are compulsory in Croatia and the student-teacher ratio in primary education was, as measured in 20i6, 14:1 (UNESCO). Secondary education has two main streams that represent ISCED 3 level: general education gymnasiums (4 year programs) and vocational education (high schools with 3 to 5 year programs). After secondary education, all gymnasium students are obliged to pass the state matura exams and for vocational students these exams are voluntary, needed in the case when VET students want to enrol to higher education institution and continue their schooling. 1 Units of local government are municipalities (hrv. "opcme") and cities, and units of regional government are counties (hrv. "zupamje").In total there are 576 units oflocal and regional government ofwhich there are 428 municipalities, 127 cities and 21 counties (note: Zagreb is both capital city and county). 16 I. ELEZOVIČ ■ CIVIC AND CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION IN CROATIA ... At the tertiary level (ISCED 5 to 8) Croatia, along with 48 European countries, implemented a set of changes known under the title of the Bologna process which reformed higher education across Europe. Since 2005, following major innovations, were introduced in HE with the purpose of joining European Education Area and recognisability, three educational levels in tertiary education, new academic titles (aligned with the qualification frames2) and ECTS points. Teacher training and continuous professional development Despite the above-mentioned processes in the national education system, teacher preparation programs did not go through the same substantial re-form(s) in a systematic way. In many surveys, teachers stressed that they do not feel sufficiently prepared to efficiently function according to recent developments in the educational system, in particular that they did not receive enough methodological, but also subject matter, knowledge to deliver new forms and contents of teaching. One example of this discrepancy in teacher preparation in Croatia is in the area of seven cross-curric-ular themes. These themes are: Personal and Social Development, Learn how to learn, Civic and Citizenship Education, Health, Entrepreneurship, Using Information and Communication Technology and Sustainable Development. The general idea is that each and every teacher can teach beside their primary area in which they specialized during the study, any cross-curricular and interdisciplinary content when needed and that short-term training (few hour courses) would be enough to prepare them for these tasks. But results from the ICCS 2016 showed that in Croatia (and Norway), for example, almost half of the teachers reported not having received training relevant to any of the 12 offered CCE topics. On the other hand, more than half of the teachers in Latvia and Peru indicated that they had participated in professional development for all of the topics included in this question4 (Schulz et al., 2018). 2 European Qualification Framework (EQF) available at: https://europass.cedefop.eu-ropa.eu/europass-support-centre/other-questions/what-european-qualification-frame-work-eqf and national qualification frameworks - Croatian Qualification Framework (CROQF), available at: https://www.azvo.hr/en/enic-naric-office/the-croatian-qualifica-tions-framework-croqf . 3 Proscribed under these titles by new curriculums and implemented since school year 2019/2020, but present in general documents since publication of National Framework Curriculum for Preschool, Elementary and Secondary Education (Ministry of Science, Education and Sports, 2010). 4 CCE topics researched in ICCS 2016 in which teachers could have teacher training were: Human rights, Voting and elections, Global community and international organizations, Environment and environmental sustainability, Emigration and immigration, Equal opportunities for men and women, Citizens' rights and responsibilities, Constitution and 17 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 Although Key Competences for Lifelong Learning (European Commission, 2006) announced significant changes and transition to competence based education across Europe, not all elements of the educational systems were ready to follow that path. Tertiary level and higher education institution, in particular, have a very slow and heavy pace in implementing changes due to the large size and complexity of the system. Nevertheless, this European document was "translated" into the Croatian national system in the years following and its echo has become a part of all reform endeavours. Teachers in the Croatian educational system can be systematized, in a very broad way, in two groups by their educational paths: (1) those coming from Teacher faculties and (2) those coming from all other higher education institutions; and in four groups by the age of students to which they teach: a) preschool teachers at ISCED 0, b) homeroom teachers for students up to the age of 10 or fourth grade of elementary school, ISCED 1, c) teachers of subject classes for students in grades 5 to 8 of elementary school and all years of secondary school, ISCED 2 and 3 and d) teachers teaching at the tertiary level or students enrolled in university and other forms of higher education programs, ISCED 4 and higher. Teachers coming from Teacher faculties (1) correspond to teaching in ISCED levels 0 and 1 (a and b) and teachers coming from all other higher education institutions correspond to those teaching particular subjects in elementary and high school or becoming tertiary level teachers (c and d). Focusing only on school teachers, the first group has additional conditions in the form of a two year supervised practice during the study, passing formal qualification exam and a one year probation period when they start working. The second group of teachers finish studies in some science area (for example, Geography, Mathematics, foreign languages etc.) upgraded with an additional group of classes in pedagogy and methods for the title "professor". When they join elementary and/or secondary schools to teach their respective subjects (i.e. Geography, Mathematics, foreign language at ISCED 2 or 3) they also have to have a one year internship or probation program. Teachers at the tertiary level have to go through a set of preparatory academic positions on their way to achieving scientific doctoral title and independence in organizing classes for HE students. Focusing on ISCED 2 and 3 teachers, there are none obligatory continuous professional trainings or certification processes after achieving their titles and school positions. A lack of a formal rewarding system for the high political systems, Responsible internet use (e.g. privacy, source reliability, social media), Critical and independent thinking, Conflict resolution, European Union. (Databases available at: https://ilsa-gateway.org/studies/data/59) 18 I. ELEZOVIČ ■ CIVIC AND CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION IN CROATIA ... achieving teachers and/or a possible penalty system for the inactive teachers had created the climate of a very individual approach to the teaching profession. For those individuals willing to specialize and professionally develop within the particular theme(s) there is enough official training5 to start building capacities for achieving such personal goals. But critics have pointed out that serious reform processes cannot lean too heavily on individual strengths and preferences, and also personal time of school employees, but training should be provided across all types of educational institutions and encouraged (rewarded) in a standardised and consistent manner. In Croatian, there is a wide array of documentation and practice which focuses on institutionalized and/or formally recognized forms of the increase of teachers' competences as considered under the term "professional development". These can also have different durations, from a few hours or one-day seminars, courses, specialized short-term training to one semester or multiple year's studies. In education, professional development for teachers consists also of different forms and types of seminars, consultations, lectures, courses, workshops and round-tables organized on the level of schools, municipality, city, county or in international level (Horvat and Lapat, 2012). These activities are necessary for teachers to be familiarized with current professional demands and also to nurture their willingness to increase their own competence. Hill (2009) posits that attendance at training does not mean good results and that new modern forms of professional development does not immediately mean quality or effectiveness. The usual short forms of teacher training almost always position teachers as passive and inactive receivers of information. But without the mechanism of participant's feed-back or continuous support to teachers, these forms stay on the superficial level and do not have long-lasting effects6. But if professional development is seen as the instrument of the system for fostering development of its teachers, and consequently, the development of the system itself, this instrument needs to be monitored and advanced. Every year, in every country, a large amount of 5 The responsible agency is Teacher Training Agency (www.azoo.hr), and for the vocational secondary schools teachers, it is the Agency for Vocational Education and Training and Adult Education (www.asoo.hr). In the present reform, a substantial part of teacher training is provided by the Ministry of Science and Education itself and another agency CARNet - Croatian Academic and Research Network, due to the many themes being dedicated to the ICT in education. 6 Some research (Powell, Diamond, Burchinal and Koehler; Garet et al., 2008 and 2011; O'Dwyer et al., 2010; Powell et al., 2010) shows under-expected results or effects of traditional forms of professional development on the improvement of their knowledge and instructional practice, as well as on the student achievement. 19 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 public funds are invested in traditional forms of development such as seminars, workshops and meetings. Evans (2014) cautions that narrow definitions of professional development need to be abandoned, along with prejudices on where and how these activities are organized. The message for educational experts, and policy makers especially, is that they need to acknowledge that professional development cannot be confined to planned workshops, courses, meetings or formal consultations, but that it is omnipresent and happening in every context, unplanned, in everyday work and interactions which have an effect on the increase of expertise and competence. The learning processes for teachers and their overall achievement therefore are not directly connected (only) with formal professional development, as it is often seen in practice when we meet teachers that see teaching as their "calling" and not their job. Short history of implementation of the Civic and Citizenship Education in Croatia Following the armed conflicts in the territory of the former Yugoslavia Republic, after the stabilization of the most important functions in the state, in the late 1990's, the educational system in the new independent Republic of Croatia was undergoing organizational and content changes. The first significant sign of state commitment to building capacities in the area of human rights and democratic citizenship education (hereinafter: HRE & EDC) was joining the activities related to Plan of Action for the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education 1995-2004 (1996)7 and forming the first National Committee for Human Rights Education with the aim to develop the first educational program in this area. The program entitled National Programe of Education for Human Rights and Democratic Citizenship (Government of the Republic of Croatia, National Committee for Human Rights Education, 1999) combined, for the first time, guidelines for the preschool, elementary and secondary school level of education and had its echo in the Framework Plan and Programe for Primary Schools (1999) as optional interdisciplinary content. At the same time, the former Institute for Education (todays Teacher Training Agency) was developing and initiating specialized trainings for HRE & EDC. But in the next few years, the development of documents and practice in this area was slowed down partially due to other priorities within and around the educational system and only a small portion of schools were implementing this content (without any formal monitoring). The 7 Available at: https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Education/Training/Compilation/Pages/ PlanofActionfortheUnitedNationsDecadeforHumanRightsEducation,1995-2004(1996). aspx 20 I. ELEZOVIČ ■ CIVIC AND CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION IN CROATIA ... new push came along with the first comprehensive national reform8 which started with the strategic document Education Sector Development Plan 2005-2010 (Ministry of Science, Education and Sports of the Republic of Croatia, 2005) and the consequent implementation of the new National Program on Primary Education (Ministry of Science, Education and Sports of the Republic of Croatia, 2006). All elementary programs were revised and new documents came into power after the experimental period of implementation. Here, H RE was included with integrated content in many, predominantly social science, subjects and the possibility of organizing it as an optional school subject was left upto schools. This "possibility" was not appealing in practice, and again only a small portion of schools and/or local communities was devoted to this implementation due to their objective restrictions in the teaching organization (limited time/space in the schedule, lack of expert teachers, students choosing other subjects perceived as more important as optional ones, etc.). This ambiguous period ended with the publication of the first Croatian National Curriculum Framework (Ministry of Science, Education and Sports of the Republic of Croatia, 2011) in which Civic and Citizenship Education (CCE) was introduced in the form of cross-curricular themes that needed to be implemented in all subjects and in all levels of compulsory education (ISCED 0 to 3). Here again, the option of organizing CCE as a school subject remained, but with similar effect as up until then. In this period Health Education had its second experimental implementation in primary and secondary education9 as one of the cross-cur-ricular themes that opted to become a separate subject but in both cases this was postponed and accompanied with heated public debate. Right-wing parties and NGO's organized public campaigns for Health Education not to be introduced in its integral form10 but selective and on a voluntary basis, and in that moment this educational content was successfully disputed on the basis of "acceptable values". At the same time, a new independent CCE curriculum was experimentally introduced to only 12 schools for one school year (Ministry of Science, Education and Sports and Teacher Training Agency, 2012) with the aim of becoming the one 8 Reform known under the name of Croatian National Educational Standard (hrv. "Hrvatski nacionalni obrazovni standard" or HNOS). 9 The first experimental implementation of Health Education was done in school year 2008/2009 and the second one 2012/2013. External evaluation was done by the National Centre for External Evaluation of Education (NCEEE). 10 The most problematic part" was forth module - Sex/Gender Equality and Responsible Sexual Behaviour, especially in the part of sexual behaviour of youth and possible forms of contraception. Three other modules were: Living healthy, Prevention ofViolent Behaviour and Prevention of Addictions. 21 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 that would be consequently introduced to all levels. This CCE curriculum had programed four cycles, within three functional dimensions - knowledge and understanding, skills and competences, attitudes and values -and six structural dimensions - culture, ecology, economy, human rights, politics and society. Coincidently, as soon as Health Education was no longer an issue (and not implemented) conservative powers were focused to "win the battle" over CCE and in the year 2014 this curriculum was also abandoned and some additional changes in content and structure were ordered. At this point, the authorities proposed the new document: Programe of Cross-Curricular and Interdisciplinary Contents of Citizenship Education for Primary and Secondary Schools (Ministry of Science, Education and Sports, 2014). By this decision, CCE was implemented in all primary and secondary schools as cross-curricular theme in all subjects and on all levels, with no solid structure and/or monitoring procedure. In parallel, 34 schools (approximately 3% of elementary schools) answered the opened public call to be a part of experimental implementation of CCE as a separate subject in grade 8 but with no additional support in terms of materials or trainings. As school years went by, the number of schools fell to 20 and then still. The next phase of changes started with the second major reform process in Croatia - Comprehensive Curricular Reform (hrv. "Cjelovita kurikularna reforma" or CKR). This reform started in 2015 and is still undergoing with major (political) disruptions all along the way. Nevertheless, in the first half of 2019, all subject curriculums and cross-curriculum content had undergone thorough revisions and new versions were published and put into power. After some disruptions caused by governmental instabilities and having four different ministers leading the way, the reform processes restarted in 2018 with a very ambitious schedule. By that time, teachers felt somewhat overwhelmed with all new training contents and especially with majority of them being moved to the digital environment in the first year of implementation (online platforms and/or webinars). CCE, as well as other cross-curricular contents11, was part of this new package in which mainly old proposals were offered. The multifaceted approach of the 2012 curriculum and two experimental programs from 2014 were abandoned in favour of a more simplistic structure and content focusing on only three domains - Human rights, Democra- 11 Very similarly as before, since the introduction of Key Competences for Lifelong Learning (2007), the new framework planned for seven important cross-curriculum areas: Civic and Citizenship Education, Entrepreneurship, Health, Learn how to learn, Personal and Social Development, Sustainable Development, Usage of Information and Communication Technology. 22 I. ELEZOVIČ ■ CIVIC AND CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION IN CROATIA ... cy and Social community - in the currently valid CCE program (Ministry of Science and Education, 2019). At present, twenty years after the first CCE program emerged in the Republic of Croatia, although there were no comprehensive debates on its implementation, proposed plan of monitoring or built-in possibilities of improvements, this area of education is no longer being widely discussed. The reason is not that everything is being said and done. Unfortunately, the reason is that the time for those analyses have passed and social capital for experimentations was spent along with the openness to more daring solutions. After a few attempts that all fell back into the "cross-curricu-lar" solution, CCE was implemented and thought of as a cross-curricu-lar interdisciplinary theme in all grades and subjects of ISCED level 1 to 3. Under these circumstances, from the point of view of policy makers who mirrored the very slow adaptations within the tertiary level, teacher education had no real need to undergo some more serious changes. As before, every teacher has to be proficient in his/her major area (or subject) and all of them have to be equally able to teach all contents planned in cross-cur-ricular themes. This content comes from numerous science areas, so diverse knowledge and competence are needed to successfully convey it to students. There are only a few formal elements of support: regular teacher training in cross-curricular themes, additional teacher training in new methodologies needed for cross-curricular areas, cross-curricular practices in planning classes within each school (where teachers can cooperate with other teachers that are content-experts in some areas) and the individual enthusiasm of teachers. During the period in which the second comprehensive reform was trying to 'push through' political obstacles on the national level, the bottom-up implementation of CCE started in one regional environment. The city of Rijeka (in Primorsko-goranska County) in 2016 ordered and implemented its own version of CCE as a separate subject in city elementary schools12. After positive self-evaluation in the first school year, the program was transposed to some other cities and regional administrative units where the "Rijeka model of CCE" was implemented along with available teaching and learning materials. This initiative was not closely monitored nor supported (or disapproved) by the national level authority but it should not be ignored as an example of how an educational system could be influenced and/or changed in an unusual way from the perspective of an exclusively centralized decision-making experience. 12 Recorded also in the Education and Training Monitor 2018, pp. 42. Available at: https:// ec.eur0pa.eu/educati0n/sites/educati0n/files/d0cument-library-d0cs/v0lume-2-2018-ed-ucation-and-training-monitor-country-analysis.pdf 23 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 Previous research on civic knowledge and attitudes In general, most of the recent research, both with school students and the youth in Croatia, showed a lack of in depth knowledge of civic and citizenship content and engaging attitudes. At the same time, students showed interest towards this subject area and willingness to participate in more interactive and open lessons (Spajic-Vrkaš, 2015).13 One of the first national pieces of comprehensive research in this area was conducted in 1997 with 37 principals and members of expert staff, 288 teachers, 705 students of grade 3 and 4, and their parents, in elementary schools - one per administrative centre in 21 counties throughout the whole of Croatia. The aim of the research was to provide empirical feedback for developing a program of HRE within the project "Peace and Human Rights in Croatian Elementary Schools" (Spajic-Vrkaš, 2000). This research has shown that teachers, principals and parents have positive attitudes towards the implementation of content regarding children's rights and human rights in general, peaceful conflict resolution and environmental protection in all subjects. At the same time less than 5% of participants thought that elementary schools should develop students' political literacy. The popular thesis was that "Children should not be bothered with politics." Many teachers have stated that the content of HRE are already represented in homeroom classes and more than half of them confirmed that they feel prepared to teach this content, out of which every other acquired their competences in this area through self-education. Among other interesting findings gathered from students was the question of the most important rules that they need to obey in schools. For half of them these were "to sit quietly in their place", "to listen to their teacher carefully" and "to know the answer when teacher asks a question" which are all oriented to school discipline. Only 6% of students chose the rule "to respect one another". The Research and Education Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Citizenship (Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Zagreb) has conducted research on knowledge and attitudes of human rights, democracy and citizenship with 1300 students of final years of their tertiary education in Zagreb and Rijeka in 2005. This study was launched to gather empirical data for starting a university program in HRE and 13 Following description of previous research (until year 2015) is adapted from the publication: (Ne)moc gradanskog odgoja i obrazovanja - Objedinjeni izvještaj o učincima eksperimentalne provedbe kurikulumagradanskog odgoja i obrazovanja u 12 osnovnih i srednjih škola (šk. god. 2012./2013), pp. 2628, after obtained permission from the author and principal researcher Vedrana Spajic-Vrkaš. Available at: https://www.ncvvo.hr/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/GOO_e_publikaci-ja.pdf 24 I. ELEZOVIČ ■ CIVIC AND CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION IN CROATIA ... EDC. The results have shown that students, especially those from teacher faculties, are not sufficiently familiar with standards of human rights protection, the European system of human rights protection or with legal norms which determine their rights and responsibilities during the study. Also, a very small portion of students have participated in community work and similar activities of the civil sector. On average, they felt moderately informed about many important social issues; they showed an inclination to retreating to the private sphere and a strong distrust towards national democratic institutions and politicians as well as towards European and international organizations. The biggest problems in the country, according to their opinion, were: bribery, corruption and fraud (73%), unemployment (48%), the low education level of population (32%) and government irresponsibility and lack of competence (30%). Most of them saw the way out of these problems through the development of a society based on knowledge and justice. But they mostly did not recognize the connection between human rights, democracy and citizenship and their studies. Around 40% of students did not learn about these themes during their studies and half of them learn about them only partially. The consciousness about this problem can be related to the finding that more of 80% of students were interested in introducing subject(s) into higher education and 25% of them stating that H RE and EDC content should be implemented into all levels and forms of education. Some findings are comparable to those results. These are from the research on knowledge and attitudes of 1060 students in grade 4 of secondary education (both gymnasiums and VET) from 2009 that was conducted as larger regional research (Spajic-Vrkaš and Žagar, 2012). Croatian high school students showed below average knowledge and were lacking behind their peers in the region. They revealed their discontent with school and self-evaluated their informativeness on the political situation in the country and world as insufficient. They are mostly not involved in civil and humanitarian activities, public life is not one of their interests and they generally do not trust Croatian democratic institutions and political subjects. On the other hand, they are oriented to individuality and their private life. Regarding learning about human rights, democracy and citizenship they recognized those themes only in some school subjects, but think they are insufficiently represented. Teaching methods used are mostly a combination of lectures and discussions and not participative and research methods. Also, lessons usually avoid discussions on controversial social issues and students are not encouraged enough to critically view problems from different perspectives. 25 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 Another research was conducted in 2009 by the Centre for Human Rights (an NGO from Zagreb) aimed at assessing the implementation of HRE and EDC in Croatian elementary schools, using the sample of grade 8 students, their parents, teachers and principals that in general confirmed previously stated conclusions, but revealed many new problems on national and institutional levels (Batarelo et al., 2010). Although a large majority of respondents confirmed that preparing students for democratic citizenship is one of the most important tasks of schooling, about one half of the teachers and principals was not able to evaluate if HRE and EDC is implemented in Croatian schools or whether these contents are getting the appropriate treatment within the new national framework. By applying an instrument for the measurement of democratic school culture, five types of predominant school cultures were identified: democratic, egalitarian, traditional, responsive and authoritarian. Based on these results, the authors concluded that the main problem in modern education in Croatia is a crisis of institutional identity and that schools are not promoting democratic values nor national awareness enough. This is concluded to be the main cause for the failure of schooling in the area of upbringing (and not only educating) students regarding their adoption of values and attitudes that are crucial for the development of emancipated citizens. Somewhat comparable results are found in the study from 2010 on political literacy that was organized jointly by GONG14 and Faculty ofPo-litical Sciences, University of Zagreb, on the sample of 1000 students attending the final grades of all school types in secondary education (Bagic and Šalaj, 2011). Political literacy was assessed through informativeness and knowledge on the most important political concepts and events as well as on attitudes important for democratic political culture. This study once more confirmed that students are not knowledgeable and do not understand basic political concepts (on average 2,8 correct answers to 8 questions), characteristics of constitutional political order (on average 3,6 correct answers to 6 questions) and are not informed about recent political events in Croatia (on average 2,1 correct answers on 5 questions). The results on political attitudes were also worrying due to the fact that not a small number of respondents had opinions opposite to democratic political culture. They were oriented towards the authoritarian political option, banning political activities for particular parties and individuals, denying rights of culturally different groups, nationalism and ethnocentrism, 14 GONG acronym means citizens organized to oversee the voting" (hrv. Gradani organizirano nadgledaju glasanje) and was funded in 1997. 26 I. ELEZOVIČ ■ CIVIC AND CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION IN CROATIA ... homophobia and ignoring the role of organizations of civil society, and also having a distrust in the power of citizens to influence the situation in state and society. These results had led the authors to conclude that goals, contents and methods of programs of political education on the secondary level had to be revised to foster their affective component. The latest research which is somewhat parallel in content and structure to the previous one, has been done by the GOOD Initiative15 in cooperation with GONG and Institute for Social Research in 2015. A representative sample included 1146 students of final grades of high schools - both gymnasiums students and three, four and five year VET programs students - from six Croatian regions (Bagic and Gvozdanovic, 2015). Students showed a limited knowledge of basic political concepts and constitutional political order, and especially showed a lack of political informa-tiveness. On average, high school students in finishing grades gave correct answers to 9 out of 19 questions which tested political knowledge. The significant difference in political knowledge was found between students in gymnasium and three-year VET programs, while students of four and five-year VET programs were in between these two groups. Political values and attitudes of students were measured by using the scale of national exclusiveness, relationship towards own nation and national tradition, gender roles, homosexuals, totalitarian systems and membership in EU. Students leaving high schools demonstrated only a declarative acceptance of democratic principles and national minority protection, but in real life situations they were more inclined to the limitation of these rights and freedoms. Despite the fact that they have shown a preference towards banning some parties, media or limiting freedom of speech, it should be emphasised that these attitudes were diversified i.e. authoritarian attitudes did not dominate, but were present in the amount that cannot be ignored. Regarding the content of school programs, students reported on insufficient representation of socially and politically relevant themes while their political informativeness was reduced to consuming social network content and peer conversations. The differences in the perception of the school climate indicates the different normative and value aspects of school life which has an effect on (not) having a democratic school culture. The results of another research on needs, problems and the potential of the youth in Croatia from 2013 on a representative and stratified sample of 2000 respondents age 15 to 29 (Ilisin and Spajic-Vrkas, 2015) con- 15 "GOOD Initiative" since 2008 serves as the platform that gathers more than 50 NGOs involved in non-formal education and human rights. The main aim of the Initiative is the systematic and high-quality implementation ofHRE and EDC in Croatian education system. More information available at: http://goo.hr/good-inicijativa/ 27 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 firmed that young people are not satisfied by the state of democracy in Croatia. They consider politics as a dishonest occupation and they do not have trust in the government, parliament and political parties. Despite that, in relation to the generation of youth surveyed in 2004, both citizenship and political activism was somewhat increased. The generation of youth surveyed in 2013 has less trust in political parties but have twice the number of members joining political parties, so the authors concluded that in the overall atmosphere of political clientelism, a not so small portion of the youth see political engagement as an effective way of resolving their existential issues. At the same time, young people do not know enough about the ways in which democracy functions, they believe less and less in basic constitutional principles and they are more and more inclined to authoritarian solutions. Only one quarter think that democracy is the best form of organizing social and political life, and more than one third support the concept of 'great leaders'. Three quarters of students are not inclined to the idea of lowering the active right to vote to the age of 16, which could be attributed to their unpreparedness to fulfil their role as citizens. More than half think that schools should prepare students for the challenges of active citizenship and that the CCE as a school subject would encourage them to further engage in society. The presented national research and results, along with the formal CCE evaluations16, point to several important conclusions: - Students are interested to learn about HRE and EDC contents but their competences in this area, as measured in different ways during the years, are not satisfactory: in terms of knowledge, students show low (national assessments) to medium (ICCS 2016) familiarity with basic CCE concepts. - Students do not reflect democratic values and beliefs connected to high-functioning democratic societies in some HRE and EDC targeted areas (for example, trust in institutions, overall engagement or recognition of equal rights of different groups). - Teachers are constantly expressing the lack of detailed and focused teacher training education; a large number of those that were organized did not meet the expected level of quality. Personally motivated and organized learning is still prevailing among teachers. - Teachers prefer teaching contents in relation to, for example, humanitarian actions, culture and/or ecology over the ones from the political realm. Group work, peer learning, project and research approach are methods that are being used more and more in classes, 16 Conducted in school years 2012/2013, 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 by the NCEEE. 28 I. ELEZOVIČ ■ CIVIC AND CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION IN CROATIA ... but for some others such as debates or role playing teachers need more guidance. - Materials for teaching and learning CCE were missing during every attempt of implementation, which could be resolved by preparing digital materials in the future and those can be easily shared, upgraded, changed or replaced. Results of the first IEA International Civic and Citizenship Education Study in Croatia - ICCS 2016 Although quite a few pieces of national research were conducted on the school i.e. student samples, they were somewhat deficient in terms of focusing on CCE only. Another common point of regarding their often disappointing results when it comes to student knowledgeability or attitudes was that they were not delving deep enough into the cognitive and/or affective behaviour dimensions. Joining the ICCS 2016 study was an attempt to put previous results and accompanying criticism into the more international and comparable perspective where CCE is being researched by using calibrated instruments and strong concept frameworks. The ICCS 2016 cycle is an extension ofprevious world-wide research in the area of civic and citizenship that was organized by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). The first one was conducted under the name Six Subject Survey17 on the sample of fourteen year old students in 21 countries, and one of those six subjects was Civic Education. Second research was conducted in 1999 in 28 countries on the sample of fourteen year old students and in 16 countries on the samples of seventeen and eighteen year old students. The third international survey of student knowledge and attitudes in this area was the first ICCS, conducted in 2009, in 38 countries on the sample of fourteen year old students. In ICCS 2009, civic knowledge scale was established with three knowledge benchmarks i.e. four levels (from A being the highest level to D being the lowest level). Proficiency or achievement levels represented the conceptual hierarchy of civic and citizenship knowledge whereby higher levels reflect higher complexity of contents and cognitive processes. In ICCS 2016 these levels were very similar assuring the comparability of measurements and only "Below level D" was added for a better description of the results on the lower end of the scale. The results of the latest ICCS, on average in all 21 participating countries, show that 3% 17 The study was conducted by the IEA during 1966-1973. The six subjects were: Science, Reading Comprehension, Literature, English as a Foreign Language, French as a Foreign Language, and Civic Education. Report available at ERIC database, reference number: ED128349. 29 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 of students were below level D, 10% of students were at level D, 21% were at level C, 32% at level B and 35% at level A (Schulz, W. et al., 2018). Croatian results are comparable to international ones (to the average of participating countries) when looking at levels A and C and other levels differ. Overall, Croatian students achieved the result over the ICCS average (the national score was 531 points and ICCS 2016 average was 517) but when results from only European countries are taken into account (European ICCS 2016 average was 535 score points), this national result is quite close to European average. There are no students with below level D knowledge and on the level D there are (only) 4% of students. One fifth or 20% of students are on the level C, while most of students (40%) acquired level B. Almost the same ratio of students (36%) achieved the highest proficiency or level A. Overall, three quarters of students in Croatia were on the level B or above, which is a very important variable in all further ICCS 2016 data analysis. When looking at the collected background data from student questionnaires, Croatia stands out in several themes and some of them echo the results from previously presented national studies conducted during the last decade. One of those is student trust in institutions - national and local government, national parliament, courts of justice, police and political parties. For participating countries in ICCS 2016 these results had two directions: in some countries, those with higher levels of civic knowledge had the lowest levels of trust in civic institutions (Bulgaria, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, the Dominican Republic, Lithuania, Mexico, Peru and the Russian Federation) and in others it was the opposite way i.e. students with higher levels of civic knowledge had more trust in civic institutions (in Denmark, Estonia, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia and Sweden). Parental levels of education followed the same pattern, so in some countries it meant that students with at least one parent with a university degree expressed slightly more trust in civic institutions (in Flemish Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden). The reverse pattern was evident in other countries, including Croatia, where students with at least one parent with a degree had lower average scores of institutional trust (Bulgaria, Dominican Republic, Lithuania, Malta, Mexico, Peru and the Russian Federation). Researchers concluded that these two patterns may be rooted in the duration and type of democracy in the two groups of countries (Schulz et al., 2018). Taking other sources into account this interpretation could be supplemented with some other factors, outside the scope of the study that could be of importance such as the economic profile of the country or the general 30 I. ELEZOVIČ ■ CIVIC AND CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION IN CROATIA ... functioning of institutions in question (their efficiency, perception of nepotism and/or corruption, etc.). Secondly, Croatian students had below average participation in youth organizations affiliated with a political party or union (4%), in a group of young people campaigning for an issue (3%) and in voluntary group helping the community (30%). The other finding was that in all but one country, students' experience with participation in community groups or organizations also had consistent and significant positive associations with students' expectations of engaging actively in societal issues as an adult. On average, one (national) standard deviation was associated with a very small increase in expected active political participation of little more than half a scale score point (Schulz et al., 2018). The one country differing from this pattern was Croatia. This could mean, that taking into consideration that Croatian students who are not mainly engaged or participating in community activities at present, do expect more out of themselves in the future - which could be an optimistic perspective. The third distinctive finding from ICCS was in connection to students' attitudes towards European identity as a broader concept and the European Union as a political and geostrategic concept. Overall, the average student from European countries participating in ICCS 2016 expressed a strong sense of European identity. In Croatia, Finland, Italy, Malta, Norway and Slovenia, the average scores recorded were significantly above the ICCS 2016 European average (Losito et al., 2018). In relation to attitudes towards the EU, the highest national averages and percentages significantly above the European ICCS 2016 average were recorded in Croatia, Lithuania, and Malta (Losito et al., 2018). Croatian students expressed high positive attitudes towards almost all researched dimensions within the European student questionnaire. For example, for the scale of cooperation among European countries, the highest average score was recorded for Croatia with 54 score points due to the fact that on every cooperation question, Croatian students showed attitudes above the ICCS average score. Conclusions The new curricular reform that was (re)started in 2019 confirmed the place of CCE as one of the cross-curricular themes that shall be taught to all students in every level of pre-tertiary education. In theory, every teacher should dedicate their time and resources for all seven cross-cur-ricular themes and find contents overlapping with their own main subject of teaching. Through meticulous inter-subject planning that should 31 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 be done within each school's teacher collective, at least on the level of subject groups, desired curricular outcomes for each level (grade) should be planned ahead, incorporating or linking cross-curricular content with all other school content and activities. The previous monitoring of Health Education and CCE implementation showed that school collectives are not very familiar with such a group method ofplanning and only some portion of schools are successfully operationalizing cross-curriculum contents through school level planning. Therefore the vast majority of teachers are only formally writing down in administrative documentation the connection between the theme from their obligatory subject to something similar or overlapping in the cross-curricular theme and noting it as CCE content that has been taught to students. Very often students are not even aware that these connections are made with particular cross-curricular theme, and only the teacher's note of the class reflects that. Conscious teachers are coping with this semi-obligatory and semi-visible approach very well, as they would with any other challenge, but those not willing to implement additional cross-curricular contents (for any possible reason) have a large space available for not having to do anything substantial. In lower grades (ISCED 1), the real process of interdisciplinary flows more smoothly due to the fact that there is one homeroom teacher and program that has many themes corresponding to contents of cross-curricular themes for younger students. When it comes to higher level (ISCED 2 and 3) subject, classes take most of the daily capacities and cross-curricular content are usually being 'squeezed' into homeroom classes (one school hour per week) depending on the issue that the particular class is having. For example, absenteeism could be connected to Lear how to learn; organizing field trips could be connected to Entre-preneurship or Civic and Citizenship Education if it includes visits to some state institutions; in the upper grades, the problem of smoking (addictions) is connected to Health, etc. In short, cross-curricular themes are being addressed when it is convenient to take everything else from the schedule into consideration first. Although there was enough theoretical power and practical international experience behind every form of CCE delivery - as a separate subject (obligatory or optional), as cross-curricular content or through the school experience on the whole - Croatia has repeatedly opted for the cross-curricular approach in the last twenty years. There were two experimental implementations of CCE as a separate school subject but those were on voluntary school/student basis, so the methodology was limited in many aspects. Also, implemented curriculums (the ones from 2012 and 2014) had a very confined time before other documents or directions were 32 I. ELEZOVIČ ■ CIVIC AND CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION IN CROATIA ... delivered to schools to implement. Practice showed that reasons for not having cross-curricular themes organized in any different way were mainly more of an organizational nature. First of all, having to change many legislature documents to be able to implement the new subject (probably 'at the expense' of the existing subjects) always had strong opposition. Secondly, there is simply not enough time in the already overloaded student schedules for new subjects and the issue of who would teach cross-curric-ular themes as a separate subject is also of relevance. Last, but not least, if time and capacities are limited why and how can one choose one of those themes over another to become a subject due to the fact that all themes becoming new subjects was never a possibility without the prerequisite of changing the overall concept of subject-oriented teaching. Another stream of "arguments" in these matters are more worldview issues, especially in the case of Health Education and then also CCE, where parents, supported by the right wing political parties and NGOs, protested that school has no right to transfer worldview content to children and that this is the exclusive right of parents only (based on the Constitution18). There were alternative and opposite interpretations, based on the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, signed declarations in the area of education, national strategies and their programs of activities, and other documents in which human rights and freedoms, as well as multi-faced student education and upbringing model, were nominally accepted as the only valid and implemented version of educational goals19. For the sake of compromising, the situation with cross-curricular themes was left as it is (and always has been) to the many governments that have changed in the past twenty years and the practice of everybody being responsible 'on paper' and nobody really assigned to the practical tasks of implementation remained. Nevertheless, another set of activities in recent years gave stimulus to the CCE, and other cross-curricu-lar themes, and these were additional projects coming from outside the formal and usual state funding of the schooling system (whether by local communities, national government or EU and/or other supra-nation- 18 Article 64. Parents have the obligation for the raising, supporting and schooling of children and have the right and freedom to independently decide on the matters of child's upbringing. 19 Besides documents from the Ministry of Education, these include: the National Plan of Activities for the Rights and Interests of Children (2006-2012); the National Programe for Roma, of20 02, and the Action Plan for Roma Inclusion (2005-2015); the National Policy for the Promotion of Gender Equality (2006-2010; 2011-2015); the National Strategy for the Creation of an Enabling Environment for Civil Society (2006-2011; 2012-2016); the National Programe for the Protection and Promotion ofHuman Rights (2008-2011; 2013-2016); and the National Programe for Youth (2009-2013; 2014-2017). 33 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 al funds and/or organizations). Such projects were developed within the schools themselves and are mostly implemented to resolve some important school and community issues. By writing, organizing and carrying out complex project activities, usually in some form of cooperation, school capacities had grown both in terms of material assets but more importantly in terms of human capacities and competence as well as in the diversity of content that students were in contact with. Some schools, by organizing their own projects through additional national or international funding, grew to be centres of excellence with a remarkable open school climate enabling the learning of a variety of content. As Dikovic and Letina (2016) concluded, the successful implementation of human rights education requires a school culture where participation based on democratic principles is encouraged and valued, providing students with opportunities to be involved in making decisions which affect them. Previously conducted national research indicated a rather worrying lack of student familiarity with basic CCE concepts (especially on the level of secondary schools) but ICCS 2016 results placed students leaving elementary school in the middle position on the international scale and they achieved an average score for European participating countries. Furthermore, ICCS 2016 confirmed that Croatian students are sufficiently involved in school activities but only partially engaged in civic activities in their community, they still do not trust national institutions and tend to see equity as negotiable and dependent to other social circumstances and not as a universal human right. At present, none of the national assessments of cross-curricular content are active, although there is a multilevel evaluation of new experimental curriculums (entered into a portion of schools in 2018/2019 and in cascades to all elementary and secondary schools from 2019/2020) and coordinated by the Ministry of Science and Education. In this overall situation of continuous reforms, but at the same time crystallized condition of the CCE as cross-curricular theme, the conducted ICCS 2016, as well as its next cycle in 2022, will impose itself as a strong instrument of gathering information on CCE. Neither the implementation of these contents, nor evaluations of its implementation should be the sole purpose. The real purpose should never be left out of sight and that is fulfilling all the modern states' promise to their citizens that young people can and will acquire state-of-the-art knowledge, develop a constructive approach to challenges around them, nurture democratic views on the most important political and social themes so they become engaged people who are positively contributing to their communities. 34 I. ELEZOVIČ ■ CIVIC AND CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION IN CROATIA ... Literature Bagic, D., and Gvozdanovic, A. (2015) Istraživanje političke pismenosti uče-nika završnih razreda srednjih škola u Hrvatskoj (izvješce). Zagreb: GONG i Institut za društvena istraživanja u Zagrebu. Bagic, D., and Šalaj, B. (2011) Političko znanje mladih u Hrvatskoj. In Bagic, D. (ed.): Odgaja li škola dobregradane? Študija opolitičkojsocijalizaciji hrvatskih srednjoškolaca, pp. 22-45. Zagreb: GONG i Fakultet politič-kih znanosti. https://www.gong.hr/media/uploads/odgaja_li_skola_do-bre_gradj ane .pdf Dikovic, M., and Letina, A. (2016) Integration of values and awareness model of human rights education in primary school curricula. Metodički obzori 11(1), pp. 60-75. Evans, L. (2014) Leadership for professional development and learning: enhancing our understanding of how teachers develop. Cambridge Journal of Education 44(2), pp. 179-198. Hill, H. C. (2009) Fixing Teacher Professional Development. Phi Delta Kappan 90(7), pp. 470-476. Horvat, A., and Lapat, G. (2012) Cjeloživotno obrazovanje učitelja. Andra-goški glasnik 16(2), pp. 131—142. Ilišin, V., and Spajic-Vrkaš, V. (2015) Potrebe, problemi i potencijali mladih u Hrvatskoj: Istraživački izvještaj. Zagreb: Ministarstvo socijalne politike i mladih Republike Hrvatske. https://mdomsp.gov.hr/UserDocsIma-ges/MLADI/potrebe-problemi-i-potencijali-mladih-u-Hrvatskoj-istrazi-vacki-izvjestaj.docx Kovačic, M. and Horvat, M. (eds.) (2016) Od podanika do gradana: razvoj gradanske kompetencije mladih. Zagreb: Institut za društvena istraživanja, GONG i GOOD inicijativa. Losito, B., Agrusti, G., Damiani, V., and Schulz, W. (2018) Young People's Perceptions of Europe in a Time of Change. Amsterdam: IEA. Ministarstvo znanosti i obrazovanja (2019) Odluka o donošenju Kurikulu-ma za medupredmetnu temu Gradanski odgoja i obrazovanje za osnovne i srednje škole u Republici Hrvatskoj. https://narodne-novine. nn.hr/clanci/sluzbeni/2019_01_10_217.html Ministarstvo znanosti, obrazovanja i sporta i Agencija za odgoj i obrazovanje (2012) Kurikulum gradanskog odgoja i obrazovanja. http://www.azoo. hr/images/Kurikulum_gradanskog_odgoja_i_obrazovanja.pdf Ministarstvo znanosti, obrazovanja i sporta (2014) Odluka o donošenju i Program medupredmetnih i interdisciplinarnih sadržaja Gradanskog odgoja i obrazovanja za osnovne i srednje škole. http://www.azoo.hr/ images/strucni20i4/Graanski_odgoj-program-20i4_08_i04_20i9.pdf 35 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXX, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 Ministarstvo znanosti, obrazovanja i sporta (2014) Eksperimentalni izborni program Gradanskog odgoja i obrazovanja za 8. razred osnovne škole. http://www.azoo.hr/images/gradjanski/ Eksperimentalni_izborni_program_GOO_8.r.pdf Ministarstvo znanosti, obrazovanja i športa (2010) National Framework Curriculum for Preschool, Elementary and Secondary Education. https://www.azoo.hr/images/stories/dokumenti/Nacionalni_okvirni_ kurikulum.pdf Ministarstvo znanosti, obrazovanja i športa (2005) Plan razvoja sustava odgoja i obrazovanja 2005-2010. https://vlada.gov.hr/UserDocsImag-es/20i6/Sjednice/Arhiva/ 85-05a.pdf Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 on key competences for lifelong learning, (2006/962/EC). https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ. do?uri=OJ:L:20 06:394:00i0:00i8:en:PDF Schulz, W., Ainley, J., Fraillon, J., Losito, B., Agrusti, G., and Friedman, T. (2018) Becoming Citizens in a Changing World. Amsterdam: IEA. https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783319739625 Spajic-Vrkaš, V. (2000) Peace and Human Rights for Croatian Primary Schools Project. Zagreb: Hrvatsko povjerenstvo za UNESCO. http://wp.ffzg.unizg.hr/hre-edc/files/2015/02/PeaceHR-for-Primary-Scho- ol-FINAL-REPORT.pdf Spajic-Vrkaš, V. (2015) (Ne)moc gradanskog odgoja i obrazovanja. Zagreb: Nacionalni centar za vanjsko vrednovanje obrazovanja. https://www. ncvvo.hr/wp-content/uploads/ 20i6/06/ GOO_e_publikacija.pdf Spajic-Vrkaš, V., and Žagar, M. (2012) Odgaja li škola dobregradane? Študija opolitičkojsocijalizaciji hrvatskih srednjoškolaca. Zagreb: GONG i Fakultet političkih znanosti. Šalaj, B. (2011) Politička pismenost mladih u Hrvatskoj: teorija i istraživanje. In Bagic, D. (ed.) Odgaja li škola dobre gradane? Študija o političkoj socijalizaciji hrvatskih srednjoškolaca, pp. 8-24. Zagreb: GONG i Fakultet političkih znanosti. Ustav Republike Hrvatske. Official Gazzete (NN 56/90, 135/97, 08/98, 113/00, 124/00, 28/01, 41/01, 55/01, 76/10, 85/10, 05/14). https://www. zakon.hr/z/94/Ustav-Republike-Hrvatske Vlada Republike Hrvatske (1999) Nacionalni program odgoja i obrazovanja za ljudska prava. Zagreb: Vlada Republike Hrvatske. Doi: https://www.doi.org/10.32320/1581-6044.30(5-6)15-36 36 Knowledge on political participation among basic school pupils A look at the results from the National Assessment of Knowledge in the course Patriotic and Citizenship Culture and Ethics in the 2018/2019 School Year Marinko Banjac Conventional wisdom today holds that young people's participation in political activities is in serious crisis. Through media and policy-makers' statements, the youth are frequently depicted as alienated from politics. Moreover, many scholars also problematize the comportment and attitudes of young people towards politics. Furlong and Cartmel (2007), for example, argue that there is ample evidence of, compared to older citizens, young people having little interest or involvement in traditional political processes, such as party politics. They offer numerous research showing how politics is perceived by young people as "boring and as something which has little relevance to their lives" (Furlong and Cartmel, 2007, p. 124). However this is by no means a novel revelation. So in the 1990s, some studies (Putnam, 1995) pointed out how young people are politically apathetic and lack any political awareness. Looking even further back, over 30 years ago, Stradling (in Farthing, 2010, p. 182) argued already in 1977 that there is something essentially paradoxical about a democracy in which some eighty to ninety per cent of the future citizens (and present citizenry) are insufficiently well-informed about local, national and international politics to know not only what is happening but also how they are affected by it and what they can do about it. Obviously, this is a recurring problem that has not gone away. However, over the last decade, scholars have consistently and repeatedly shown that arguments about young people's abstinence from political endeavours and their overall political passiveness are rather short-sighted. Nov- 37 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 el contemporary attitudes of young people towards political processes are complex because there exists a plethora of other forms of political engagement besides traditional party politics and conventional modes of political participation. But whatever form of political participation young people are inclined to, the idea of increasing youth participation is again (or still) part of the political agendas in many Western societies. As Bessant (2004, p. 387) points out, most Western governments now advocate enhanced youth participation as part of a discourse about modern citizenship, so much so that it has become a policy cliche' to say 'increased youth participation' will 'empower' young people. In this context, education has been now and again put to the fore as a tool for the formulation and production of decisive socio-political outcomes, such as stronger political involvement in matters affecting the lives of the youth. Political scientists (Putnam, 2007) and policy-makers alike, commonly presume that education can decisively make young people more politically conscious, more engaged and supportive of formal political processes at the various levels, including local, national and international. Education is, therefore, they believe, suited to deliver knowledge and positive attitudes towards the immersion in the same political arena they feel detached from. Although education is predominantly seen as a necessary response to pertinent ills of democracy, several pieces of research have recently shed more critical and sceptical light on the unprob-lematic and straightforward relationship between education and political participation (Milligan et al., 2004; Dee, 2004). It is precisely, but not exclusively, through such critical observations that already in the 1990s citizenship education as a concrete framework gained prominence within education as a paradigm and concrete tool through which young people can become knowledgeable citizens, citizens, in Bernard Crick's words, who are "interactive and publicly ac-tive"(Crick, 2004, p. 104). In Slovenia, citizenship education also plays an important role within the formal education system, but is also addressed and implemented within other educational contexts (Banjac and Pusnik, 2015). Although citizenship education is a cross-curricular theme within the formal system, nonetheless, its most important implementation form is the subject in Year 7 and 8 of elementary school, that is, Patriotic and Citizenship Culture and Ethics subject. 38 M. BANJAC ■ KNOWLEDGE ON POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AMONG BASIC SCHOOL PUPILS The course addresses a number of topics, among others the political system of the Republic of Slovenia, social principles and rules of public and political, human rights, European Union and globalisation. In terms of political participation as a topic, the syllabus clearly states that the aim of the course is to raise the political literacy via equipping pupils with knowledge about basic principles of democratic decision-making and democratic institutions at local and national level and also in the European Union as well as at the global level (Ministrstvo za solstvo in sport, 2011, p. 6). Not just in the curricula of the above mentioned subject but also at the level of education policies there is a strong emphasis, among other things, on promoting active participation and learning for the democratic participation of individuals in political life within their local communities and in other wider socio-political contexts. That is why it is necessary to address, continually reflect and analyse, and by this, make sense of pupils' knowledge about these themes and skills connected with them (Kerr et al., 2010). This article contributes to the above mentioned need by analysing and interpreting the knowledge of Slovenian pupils at the end of the lower secondary level of education (Year 9) about political participation via different means and at different levels. The article offers the interpretation of pupils' achievements (n = 3849) in selected questions from the National Assessment of Knowledge (NAK; Nacionalno preverjanje znanja - NPZ) in Patriotic and Citizenship Culture and Ethics subject. The NAK is a special assessment of knowledge procedure within the formal education system, in which all pupils (Year 6 and 9) in the country, on the same day, complete the same tests under the same conditions. The basic purpose of the NAK is to provide pupils, their parents, teachers and principals an insight into achieving objectives and standards as determined by curricula, uncover strong and weak areas in pupils' knowledge and thus reflect the quality and efficiency of the primary education system (RIC, 2015b). The Patriotic and Citizenship Culture and Ethics subject was selected for the NAK in 2019 as the so-called third subject and covered twenty tasks with a total of 43 questions. In this article's analysis, eight questions from five different tasks that tested pupils' knowledge and understanding of political participation were selected and included. The selection criteria for the inclusion of specific questions from the NAK 2019 test in the analysis is based on the understanding of conventional and unconvention- 39 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 al political participation as articulated by Barnes and Kaase (1979).1 Conventional political participation pertains to different possible modes of participation embedded in legal institutional frameworks, or directly referring to the electoral process and representational system, such as voting and contacting politicians (Barnes and Kaase, 1979). On the other hand, unconventional political participation refers to all modes of political participation not formally linked to the electoral process such as petitioning, demonstrating or similar (Barnes and Kaase, 1979).2 The article firstly offers a broader reflection of the role of citizenship education (especially within formal education) in contributing in various ways to political literacy and knowledge of pupils about political participation. To this end, we critically interrogate some of the key prevailing available strategies and practices within citizenship education, especially with regard to fostering a more participation-inclined youth. Next, the article briefly presents how citizenship education is systematized within the Slovenian formal education system and reflects how political participation is addressed and presented in relevant documents, such as the White paper on education in the Republic of Slovenia and, more concretely, in the Patriotic and Citizenship Culture and Ethics subject curricula. In the third part of the article, the NAK is presented as a framework for pupil assessment, with an emphasis on its structure and methodology. The latter is also important because it represents the methodological framework of this article for analysing the knowledge of pupils, which is also explained in more detail. The fourth, central part of the paper presents and interprets the results of the pupils on selected questions that were part of the NAK in the Patriotic and Citizenship Culture and Ethics subject. In the conclusion, the article critically interrogates with and interprets the main findings. Citizenship education and political participation As indicated in the introduction, practically all democracies, old and new, are continuously searching for appropriate responses to challenges to youth disenchantment and disengagement in democratic participation and, more broadly, political engagement in its various forms. Hardly surprising, citizenship education is identified and targeted as a concrete framework that makes possible 'education through citizenship', which involves formal and informal learning opportunities that enable pupils to 1 Methodology ofthe analysis is explained in 4.2 section ofthis paper. 2 For additional discussion of Barnes and Kaase's conventional/unconventional participation distinction and further updates oftheir definition see Pitti (2019). 40 m. banjac ■ knowledge on political participation among basic school pupils acquire civic skills and knowledge through hands-on experiences (Keating and Janmaat, 2015). Although various citizenship programmes (within and between different countries) have different theoretical and contextual backgrounds, they predominantly converge around one idea. They mostly concur that just the transfer of knowledge is not enough but rather the range of skills and competences and personal qualities should be fostered within citizenship education if citizens are to be willing and able to participate and exert influence in political life. As such, citizenship education is repeatedly regarded as an education instrument leading pupils to understand democratic principles and processes, identity politics, citizens' rights and responsibilities. As Print (2007) suggests, education for (democratic) citizenship in schools entails learning about being citizens in a democracy and having the opportunity to gain skills and values associated with political issues. Direct intention is therefore to prepare young people for active citizenship, which implies democratic participation. It is frequently stressed (see, for example, Crick, 2004, p. 61) that knowledge, skills and attitudes are mutually conditioned, while it is at the same time argued that citizenship education as an educational tool for political literacy should be conceived and practiced so that it meets the needs of the vast majority of young people. With this in mind, citizenship education as a framework to motivate pupils to participate politically is often based on the idea that not only abstract concepts are presented to them, but rather the opposite, to secure their understanding of concepts drawn from the everyday life and environment they are most familiar with. On the other hand, it is very crucial to highlight that participation skills are on their own not enough. Young people should also acquire all the necessary (basic) knowledge about forms of political participation, available participative tools within democratic arrangements to ensure their political engagement in wider democratic processes is informed, meaningful not just for them but for society as a whole. Notwithstanding the importance of citizenship education in democratic societies, the current available frameworks for citizenship education in different countries have been criticized from many different aspects (Garratt, 2000). In order to grasp and understand how citizenship education can and does contribute in this or that way to political literacy and knowledge of pupils about political participation, it seems reasonable to identify and make sense of these critiques. As Lawy and Biesta (2006) forcefully argue, one of the recurring problems of citizenship education is its focus on individual young people. In a variety of educational settings, citizenship education starts from 41 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 the premise that individuals lack the proper and sufficient knowledge to participate in public life. Because every individual pupil seems to be inadequately educated, they do not only lack knowledge, but also the corresponding skills and democratic values. This "individualizes the problem of young people's citizenship" (Biesta, 2008) which has, as a consequence, the underlying idea of citizenship education that individuals are themselves responsible for their indifference for political matters and social malfunctioning in general. As a response to this, citizenship education is commonly organized and practiced from the perspective of an individual acquiring a necessary set of knowledge, skills and values that will transform their political literacy and political behaviour, comportment and conduct. This does not mean that community and groups are totally neglected or dismissed in entirety within citizenship education. However, they are predominantly understood and thought of in relation to an individual where it is the latter that precedes them (see Quicke, 1992). Another detectable problem related to citizenship education concerns the role of citizenship education as a tool for the production of citizenship and (good) citizens. As Olson et al. (2015) succinctly capture, citizenship practice is still predominantly viewed and treated as the outcome of particular educational trajectories. The idea of citizenship-as-outcome reveals a strong instrumental orientation in the idea of citizenship education. The focus is mainly on the effective means to bring about 'good citizenship' rather on the question what 'good citizenship' actually is or might be (Biesta, 2011, p. 13). The discourse of instrumentalism presented in citizenship education programmes in schools treats education processes, the relevant curriculum and knowledge as a means to a particular end while the framework of citizenship education as an end in itself is quite often neglected. With regard to political participation as a topic within citizenship education, this instrumental discourse leads to contemporary education experts and policy-maker discussions on how a more participation-inclined youth is to be achieved instead of critically reflecting on what participation in current democratic societies mean. In relation to the above, another contested facet of citizenship education is worth mentioning. Namely, citizenship education predominantly takes citizenship as a status that is comprised of specific legal rights and duties (see Osler and Starkey, 2006). Of course, there are a number of different approaches and understandings within citizenship education what these two mean and how they should be addressed and taught properly. Some would argue, for example, that rights come first and responsibilities 42 M. BANJAC ■ KNOWLEDGE ON POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AMONG BASIC SCHOOL PUPILS are only second to them. Others would preach the opposite (McCowan, 2009). But regardless ofwhat the finesses and little (or substantial) nuances in the approaches might be, citizenship is still regarded, by and large, as a status that is to be learned and obtained. This view misses something very important that also Lawy and Biesta acknowledge, namely citizenship as practice: Citizenship-as-practice not only encompasses problems and issues of culture and identity but draws these different dynamic aspects together in a continuously shifting and changing world of difference. Such a view of citizenship, as we [...] argue, provides a more robust entry point for understanding and supporting young people's citizenship learning in this area (Lawy and Biesta, 2006, p. 37). This view or approach can be crucial especially in relation to political participation as one of the key topics within citizenship education. Political participation itself entails the activity of communities and individuals within them. Only through active engagement are people integrated into society and, by and through this, they are involved in a myriad of political, as well as economic and cultural practices. Only active subjectivities are engaged with the very contexts of their lives. And, as Isin (2009) contends, only if citizenship is understood as political subjectivity, our attention can be shifted away from passivising fixed categories to the actions through which these categories are critically interrogated and discomposed. As such, it "shifts our attention from already defined actors to the acts that constitute them" (Isin, 2009, p. 383). For our purposes, it remains in this part of the paper to elucidate further the status of political participation within the citizenship education and why pupils' knowledge and skills connected with it are deemed as profoundly relevant in today's democratic societies, including Slovenia. Although public participation and engagement are often addressed and delivered as content to pupils within the citizenship education framework, terms and concepts such as these two are prevailingly depoliticised. Pérez Expósito (2014, p. 230) argues that the demotion of the political occurs by replacing political participation with less controversial categories, such as civic engagement, which are also theoretically less clear and well grounded. The depoliticisation of the forms of participation in which students are encouraged to be involved entails a view of adolescents as depoliticised subjects. The depoliticisation operates in various ways, of which one is so-called societal depoliticisation (Wood and Flinders, 2014). It 43 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 involves the transition of issues from the public sphere to the private sphere and focuses on the existence of choice, capacity deliberation and the shift towards individualised responses to collective social challenges (Wood and Flinders, 2014, p.165). Such a type of depoliticisation, it can be argued, is also often present within citizenship education where student's participation is understood in individualizing (following one's own desires, interests, etc. through participation) or in moral and altruistic ground. Because it is understood from this viewpoint, participation within citizenship education is frequently not rationalised and presented as a consequence of heterogeneous complexities of political processes, relationships and phenomena in which also young people are embedded in. Keeping in mind some of the above mentioned dilemmas about political participation within citizenship education, it is important to maintain focus on the political dimension of participation in democratic societies. The relevance of a pupil's knowledge along with appropriate skills, values and behaviour oriented towards the political participation is of great importance because, as Crick (2004, p. 62) writes, a politically literate person is not only well informed about the politics but also capable of active participation and communication. They are able to critically reflect on positions of others and present their own arguments. Moreover, a persons' critical reflection enables analysis and awareness of the power relations that shape their subjectivity (Pérez Expósito, 2014). Under the heading of political participation within citizenship education, pupils are gaining key capacities to not only autonomously and efficiently practice formal democratic participation possibilities, such as voting, but also seek informal political means to counter-power, such as resistance, reciprocity and persuasion. As Pérez Expósito argues, political participation is a terrain of creativity on different levels and in different arenas, rather than a dogmatic adscription to fixed practices and must be therefore as such also treated, demonstrated and thought within citizenship education in schools and in formal educational school settings in general. Political participation in citizenship education in Slovenia When considering how concrete formal educational system, in our case Slovenian, grasps and employs certain relevant concepts, in our case political participation, we need firstly to entangle how it is addressed generally at the level of wider prevalent principles upon which national education/schooling system is built and enacted. Key orientation in this respect is the White paper on education in the Republic of Slovenia. From Slo- 44 M. BANJAC ■ KNOWLEDGE ON POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AMONG BASIC SCHOOL PUPILS venia's independence until now, two White Papers have been published. The first White paper, published in 1995 defined the fundamental cornerstones, principles and objectives of education in Slovenia and served as the basis for the comprehensive reform which took place through the adoption of a series of legislative acts covering the organisation and financing of education and specific aspects of different levels of education (EURYDICE, 2019). The currently valid White paper was published in 2011 to additionally define the guidelines based on "systematic review of the structure and functioning of the education system" (EURYDICE, 2019). Therefore, how is political participation as a tangible knowledge (and skills) objective addressed in the last and currently valid White paper? Its first concrete mention appears under the section Strategic challenges and orientations of the education system. The White Paper states that In public kindergartens and schools [...] the process of upbringing and education ofyoung generations must be based on [...] shared values and train them to live independently, to work together and participate in political life (Krek and Metljak, 2011, p. 18). The White paper seems to echo the argument of Lawy and Biesta (2006) who underline the importance of understanding citizenship as a practice (see above). The White paper insists that education must be oriented towards empowering young people for their active engagement: Education, which will train young generations to live independently and face the challenges ofthe modern world, must therefore include the willingness to make the necessary changes and the ability to find new national and global solutions in ethics, in economics and politics [...] (Krek and Metljak, 2011, p. 18). Another instance of how the White paper recognizes and addresses political participation can be identified under the heading "Principles and objectives for the further development of the primary school" (Krek and Metljak, 2011, p. 114). Here, the political participation appears under the broad principle of creating awareness of self-identity and active involvement in the formation of heritage communities: In line with identity awareness, students need to develop the ability to actively participate in their local environment, take responsibility, inter-generational learning and cooperation (Krek and Metljak, 2011, p. 117). 45 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 As we can see, participation is clearly and generally acknowledged. However, the White paper additionally elaborates on the theme of political participation at the point where the explanation of the importance of citizenship education, ethics and religion within education is presented. The White paper explicitly deals with the problem of negative perception of politics and everything that is concerned with the political: [...] negative perceptions of the political field emerge in the public and the negative labeling of "politics" and political engagement in general, stemming from the low level of culture of political dialogue (Krek and Metljak, 2011, p. 42). One of the objectives of citizenship education within formal education must, according to the White paper, address and resolve this pertinent issue: In schools, this could gradually be transcended and the perception ofthe idea of the political as an arrangement of common affairs, involving the sharing ofknowledge (knowledge, norms and values) that citizens, as citizens of Slovenia and as part of the wider world, must have (Krek and Metljak, 2011, p. 42). Now, the White paper obviously recognizes the importance of participation and at the same time offers the definition of the political and politics that goes beyond prevailing perceptions and hegemonic depoliti-cized discourse. Interestingly enough, it is precisely citizenship education that has an explicit role in changing the negative perception of politics into a more positive one, one that young people will understand as various ways of involvement and active participation in public matters affecting their lives. So the question that follows is how can citizenship education, as a separate school subject, address and conceptualise political participation and in what form should it be offered as a theme to pupils. Citizenship education was introduced as a compulsory subject under the then newly adopted 1996 legislation, which laid down a formal framework for all levels of pre-university education, while making citizenship education and ethics, as it was then called, a compulsory subject in the level of primary education. The new formal legal framework also began the process of (re)adaptation of curricula, including citizenship education. During this period, from 1996 to the beginning of 1999, the Subject Curriculum Commission for Citizenship Education and Ethics prepared the first syllabus for this subject (Banjac, 2016, p. 72). In the current syllabus, finally adopted in 2011, political participation is only indistinctly mentioned in the document's introductory sec- 46 M. BANJAC ■ KNOWLEDGE ON POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AMONG BASIC SCHOOL PUPILS tions. For example, in the definition of the school subject, the curriculum states that the pupils gain basic knowledge about "political system, social principles and rules of public and political life in Slovenia as a democratic, legal and social state" (Ministrstvo za šolstvo in šport, 2011, p. 5). Political participation is at least a little bit more concretely mentioned in the section about general objectives of the school subject. Here, the general aim of pupils' active participation in social life is defined and, under this general aim, some specific aims related to the political participation are mentioned, such as promoting democratic procedures within the school and wherever possible, preparing for participation in electoral process and responsible and critical citizenship. While curriculum is rather shy about political participation in its introduction, it is a theme more substantially and concretely developed in the curriculum's presentation of the topics covered by the school subject. The topics are divided into seven distinct sections, four in Year 7 and three in Year 8 of the basic school. Political participation is more or less equally distributed in both years, but the complexity of the topic is increasing by year. So, in Year 7, pupils are acquainted with the political participation already from the very beginning, within the section entitled "Individual, Community, State" and especially "Community of citizens of the Republic of Slovenia" (Ministrstvo za šolstvo in šport, 2011). In the latter section, for example, pupils are acquainted with topics such as the political system of the Republic of Slovenia and possibilities of citizens to participate democratically in the political processes at the national level. Political participation is also addressed in Year 8, within the topic "Democracy at close range" where this topic is additionally expanded and comprehensively elaborated (Ministrstvo za šolstvo in šport, 2011). In Year 8, various types of possible participative actions of individuals and communities are also addressed in the sections that cover the European Union and international as well as global socio-political environment. National assessment of knowledge - systématisation and methodology The National Assessment of Knowledge: its systematization and implementation The National Assessment of Knowledge (NAK) is now a well established process forming an indispensable part of the basic school system in Slovenia. It is a process implemented every school year in such a way that all pupils in the country complete the same tests on the same day under the same conditions. The NAK offers to pupils feedback on their specif- 47 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 ic subject knowledge during and at the end of primary education, including via comparison of their achievements with those of their peers and the national average. The NAK is not only intended for pupils to provide them with information on their achievements, but it is also designed to allow teachers and schools to evaluate the quality of their work. At the system level, the NAK can provide a basis for further decisions regarding the development of the education system, evaluation curricula, the development of teacher training and changes or revisions to teaching material (Gornik, 2013, p. 3). Looking into the development of the NAK within the Slovenian formal education system, we need to underscore its relation to the introduction of great changes within basic schooling at the dawn of the 21 century. Based on the idea from the second half of the 1990s that the duration of basic schooling needs should be extended from Years 8 to 9, the so-called nine-year project (devetletka) started. The direct introduction of the nine-year basic school (single structure of primary and lower secondary education) began in the 1999/2000 school year, and the introduction process was completed in the 2008/2009 school year, when all Slovenian basic schools implemented the nine-year program. The basic school program in Slovenia is therefore systematized within three educational cycles, each of which comprises three classes (Tastanoska, 2015). These three educational cycles of the basic schooling are a basis also for the systematization and implementation of the NAK. The latter is in its current full form along with its formative role has been implemented since the 2005/2006 school year. Each year, a national assessment is carried out at the end of the second educational cycle (Year 6) and at the end of the third education cycle (Year 9) (RIC, 2015c). In both cases, the NAK has a formative function, as already said, which means that the central objective is to obtain and disseminate information regarding pupils' knowledge and the implementation and effectiveness of education (the success of lessons, for example, in terms of the curriculum of a particular subject) (Slavec Gornik, 2013). Another relevant fact is that the National Examination Centre (RIC) organizes and manages the implementation and analyses the results and achievements (RIC, 2015c). Both (Year 6 and 9) NAK iterations are compulsory for students in both public and private basic schools. At the end of Year 9 (pupils aged fourteen or fifteen), pupils' knowledge in Slovene (or Hungarian or Italian), Mathematics and the so-called third subject is tested. The Minister 48 M. BANJAC ■ KNOWLEDGE ON POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AMONG BASIC SCHOOL PUPILS selects the so-called third subjects each school year from the pool of compulsory subjects in Year 8 and 9 (RIC, 20i5d).3 In the school year 2018/2019, the NAK at the end of the third cycle of education (Year 9), was implemented in May 2019. Besides examinations in two compulsory subjects, Fine Art, Physics, Foreign Language, Patriotic and Citizenship culture and ethics and Social Studies4 were selected as the third subjects. In terms of the actual implementation of the NAK, the whole process can be divided into three consecutive phases. The first phase can be referred to as the preparatory phase, in which knowledge tests are designed, prepared and formulated into their final form. The second phase is the implementation phase. Year 9 pupils take a knowledge tests at their school at the same time as their peers in all Slovenian schools on a predetermined day. The pupils write each test for sixty minutes and after completing the test, the schools send the tests in sealed envelopes to the RIC, where the tests are scanned, digitally processed and thus ready for evaluation. Tests are evaluated by teachers with the use of a specific computer software, and the accuracy of the evaluation is monitored by the principal assessor and his assistants. Once the tests have been evaluated, the subject commissions, the RIC Information Unit and the R&D Unit participate in the preparation of the data, analysis and descriptions of pupil achievement at the NAK (RIC, 2015a). The final phase of the NAK process involves informing pupils, their parents, teachers and schools about pupils' results and achievements. Pupils, along with their parents and teachers, are offered the opportunity to see how well they have passed the test, and if they do not agree with the evaluation, they may request a re-evaluation. After the re-evaluation, the RIC informs the pupils, their parents, teachers and schools about the final results (RIC, 2015a). The Methodology of the analysis The NAK 2019 on Patriotic and Citizenship Culture and Ethics subject, from which we draw data for our analysis of pupils' knowledge on political participation, was conducted on 13 May 2019. Overall, 3849 pupils from 116 schools participated in the NAK on this specific subject.5 The 3 Since 2007, four so-called third subjects (2011 being an exception, when three have been selected) have been selected each school year. 4 The Social Studies subject was selected as a third subject for pupils who are schooled in the educational programme with the lower educational standard. 5 While pupils from all Slovenian basic schools sit Mathematics and Slovene or Hungarian or Italian, the situation with the so-called third subjects is different. Namely, which third subjects will be tested at each school is determined on the basis of the random classification of schools. In doing so, the aim is to follow the equal representation of all third 49 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 pupils had 60 minutes to answer 20 tasks with 44 different questions and assignments. Some of the questions were valued with more than just one possible point so the maximum possible points was 50. The tasks in the test were composed according to taxonomic levels (according to Bloom (1956): knowledge and recognition, understanding and application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation) and, of course, according to the content foreseen in the syllabus for this subject (RIC, 2015a). This means that the test in the subject Patriotic and Citizenship Culture and Ethics tested the knowledge that is foreseen or determined within the subject curriculum (Ministrstvo za solstvo in sport, 2011). For the purpose of the present analysis, we selected and included in the analysis concrete tasks and corresponding questions that were directly related to political democratic participation, be it through conventional or unconventional means, at local (including school environment), national or at the EU level. We underline again at this point that while we agree with many who argue that political participation of youth is radically changed and new means to express political action have broadened the definition and understanding of (civic) engagement beyond conventional participative procedures such as voting. However, on the other hand, we concur with the already mentioned arguments of Pérez Expósito (2014) that depoliticised notions of participation have problematic consequences. In line with this, we insist that knowledge of pupils on democratic political participation is crucial for them to be able to significantly contribute and have a say in the arena of politics. Based on this, for the purpose of analysing the knowledge of pupils about political participation, we selected among 20 tasks those that directly concern political participation. In terms of the selection criteria, we decided to include those questions that explicitly relate to (1) institutional arrangement of political participation within a particular socio-political context (school, local, national, international level) and (2) concrete participatory action of an individual and/or group or community. According to this methodological selection criteria, we included five tasks with eight questions altogether in the analysis. With the objective of making the analysis as systematic and coherent as possible, we divided these selected questions into three different content clusters. The first cluster focuses on pupils' general knowledge about political participation and concrete democratic participation in school class. The second cluster pertains to political participation on national and local level within Slovenian po- subjects within the statistical regions, and the size of the schools is implicitly taken into account, thus ensuring a more equal number of students writing each subject (Cankar, 2014). 50 M. BANJAC ■ KNOWLEDGE ON POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AMONG BASIC SCHOOL PUPILS litical system. The last cluster focuses on unconventional means of political participation. In this article's study, we analysed the percentage of correct answers to each of the selected questions and thus obtained the data on the knowledge of pupils on specific teaching objectives as defined in the Patriotic and Citizenship Culture and Ethics subject's curricula. Pupils' knowledge about political participation: results and interpretation For every individual in a democratic society, especially those young, it is crucial to be knowledgeable in various political processes and essential democratic procedures offered to them if they are to be an empowered person making meaningful interventions in the political life of the society. But it is not only the institutionalised and general set of rules and procedures that a young person should know about, but also the "sets of practices, to which the participation of citizens is key" (Forbrig, 2005, p. 13). The NAK's 2019 test on the Patriotic and Citizenship Culture and Ethics subject second task addressed precisely the above mentioned issues. It included two questions, the first asking of pupils' more general knowledge about democratic political procedures, while the second was very specific and related to concrete possible democratic participative practices. The first question (Qi) demanded pupils to recognise from the appended picture one rule of democratic voting procedure directly at a polling station. Possible correct answers to this question were either the secrecy of the ballot/anonymous voting or one person, one vote principle (each decides for himself/herself). The pupil's answer of "privacy" was also considered as correct. The second question (Q2) was on democratic decision-making in the classroom demanding from pupils to explain the democratic procedure to reach a joint decision about the destination of their excursion at the end of the school year. The answer was marked as correct if pupils responded by one of the subsequent (or content-wise similar) argument: (1) The class reaches the decision democratically by conversing and sharing arguments about different destinations, thus jointly lowering the number of possible options and then voting on them; (2) The class reaches the decision by selecting (with the majority of pupils) a procedure through which they will decide upon their final destination; (3) They reach the decision by discussion/unanimously/with consensus that the decision will be taken by their teacher; (4) The class reaches the decision by casting a ballot and the proposal that gets the majority of votes is selected. It must be noted here that simple answers such as "draw" or "voting" was not accepted as correct; pupil's explanation of the consequence of specific procedure was required. 51 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 Table 1. Questions on general knowledge about political participation and concrete democratic participation in school class. Qi - Identify one rule of democratic voting at the polling station as visible on the photo. Tested learning objective as defined by the syllabus Assignment/ question type In the analysis of situations, pupils recognize , r , , , , ° A record of the short the norms and proce- answer dures of democratic decision-making._ Percentage of pupils with correct answer (n=3849) 70 Q2 - Describe the procedure how a class can reach a joint decision about the destination oftheir excursion. In the analysis of situations, pupils recognize the norms and procedures of democratic decision-making._ A record of the short 79 The results of the pupils with regard to these two questions show that there is a slight discrepancy between general knowledge about democratic participation rules and concrete participatory practices in an environment familiar to pupils (e.g. classroom). Seventy percent of pupils correctly identified one of the rules behind democratic voting procedure at a polling station, while 79 percent of pupils successfully described the democratic procedure in the classroom. It may be true that the discrepancy is not big; however, it is interesting that more pupils answered the second question correctly which demanded not only knowledge but also the ability to devise a clear and structured democratic process (higher taxo-nomic level). What can be discerned from this is that pupils clearly recognize general rules of democratic participation, while at the same time they are clearly capable of finding participatory solution to joint issues in their classroom environment. The second cluster of questions tested pupils' knowledge on political participation at the local and national level within the Slovenian political system. This kind of knowledge is crucially important if a particular democratic state wishes to have well-informed citizens that take political matters seriously and are prone to seize political decision-making opportunities offered to them. As already common wisdom would have it, it is an undeniable fact that education has a causal relationship with multiple forms of engagement, including voter turnout, group memberships, tolerance and the acquisition of political knowledge (Campbell, 2009). Not least important, a particular state needs strong democratic legitimacy in the form of citizens' commitment to the particular principles characteristic to democratic decision-making. As Topf writes, "elections are powerful symbols of the democratic legitimacy of 52 M. BANJAC ■ KNOWLEDGE ON POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AMONG BASIC SCHOOL PUPILS a nation-state" (Topf, 1997, p. 27). So clearly the knowledge of pupils at the lower secondary level of education is necessary to foster their trust in democratic institutions and democratic procedures as well as participative opportunities that they will have as future full members of a particular democratic state-polity. Within this cluster, we included three tasks from the NAK 2019 test, one with just one question, the second with two questions6 and the third with again just one question7. The first question (Q3) addressed the more historical dimension of political participation in Slovenia in its period of state formation at the beginning of the 90s. Therefore, the question asked pupils through what kind of voting process Slovenian voters decided about Slovenia's independence. Four possible answers were given among which only one was correct, namely the response "With the participation at the independence referendum (plebiscite) on independence for Slovenia" (response B). The second question revolved around the topic of political parties as a key representative organised group seeking through the election to exercise political power. The first question (Q4) asked pupils about the possibility to establish a political party in Slovenia. Among four possible answers the correct one was the response C ("at least 200 adult citizens sign the party establishment statement and register the party with the competent authority"). The second question (Q5) within this task included in the analysis addressed participation of political parties in Slovenian National Assembly elections. So the question asked pupils to explain why the party that received 3,8 percent of all the votes will be or will not be represented in the National Assembly in the next term. The correct answer to this question was if the pupil responded that the party will not be represented in parliament/National Assembly because it did not reach the parliamentary threshold of 4%. More simple answers were also allowed (e.g. "the party will not be represented because it received too few votes"), but the answer needed to clearly express that the party will not be represented and also explain why not. The fourth question (Q6) that was included in this cluster addressed the possibility of political participation at the local level within the Slovenian political system. The question asked pupils to record one possibility of how individuals can exercise their right to participate in 6 Although this specific task had three questions, we omitted the last question from the analysis because it did not meet the methodological selection criteria for this particular analysis. 7 Again, this task had two questions, both addressing political processes and governmental arrangements at the local level (lokalna samouprava). While the first question did not met the inclusion criteria, the second did and was thus included. 53 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 local government issues. Here, some correct answers were possible, such as participation in mayoral / local elections, participating in municipal council elections, participation in the assembly of citizens, participation in a local referendum, etc. The answer was marked as correct only if a pupil included both a concrete available participative local mechanism or process and activity of an individual. Thus, for example, an answer that stated only "local referendum" did not suffice, pupils needed to include (give a description of) an activity by an individual in the answer. Table 2. Questions on political participation on national and local level within Slovenian political system. Tested learning objective as defined by the syllabus Assignment/ question type Q3 - How did Slovenian voters decide in 1990 on the independence of the Republic ofSlovenia? Select the correct answer by encircling the letter in front of it. Pupils gain basic knowledge about the , . , , °r . ^ , Multiple Choice creation of the Republic of Slovenia. Percentage of pupils with correct answer (n=3849) 63 Q4 - How can citizens of the Republic of Slovenia form a political party? Pupils learn the difference between uniting citizens based on common interests (societies, associations, etc.) and common political goals._ Multiple Choice 74 Q5 - Political party participated in the elections to the National Assembly in the Republic of Slovenia and won 3.8% of the vote. Explain why or not a party will be represented in the National Assembly in the coming term?_ Pupils learn about the procedures by which elected officials are elected. A record of the short 37 Q6 - Write down one option, how can individuals exercise their right to participate in local authority issues? Pupils learn the difference between uniting citizens based on common interests (societies, associations, etc.) and common political goals._ A record of the short answer 34 54 M. BANJAC ■ KNOWLEDGE ON POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AMONG BASIC SCHOOL PUPILS So, what do the results within this cluster show? One of the key findings is that pupils are considerably knowledgeable on facts with regard to democratic processes that lead to the independence of the Republic of Slovenia. Namely, 63 percent of pupils were able to identify an independence referendum as a concrete mechanism that allowed the citizens to decide on the independence of the country (Q3). Although the percentage of pupils with the correct answer is quite high, one would still expect that this percentage would be higher still, not least because this theme is very much cross-curricular and is as such present also within other school subjects. Perhaps more surprising is the result of the second question (Q4) in this cluster. Almost three quarters of the pupils who sat the test knew how a group of citizens can form a political party. While pupils showed knowledge on the procedure of formally establishing a political party, they did much worse in explaining the requirements for a political party to enter the National Assembly (Q5). Only 37 percent of pupils wrote the correct answer. It must be stressed that this task was quite complex since it demanded an answer composed of two interconnected parts (clearly indicate that party will not enter the National Assembly and explain the reason why not). Whilst a low percentage of the correct answer does indicate that pupils do not have enough knowledge on the key rules of national elections in Slovenia, on the other hand, the low percentage could also be a result, at least in part, of the superficiality of reading the task instructions. Because of this, many answers contained just one part of the answer, but not the other. Another surprising result was also with regard to pupils' knowledge about political participation at a local level in Slovenia (Q6). Namely, only 34 percent ofpupils were able to correctly name one of the options ofhow individuals can exercise their right to participate in local authority issues. The curriculum of the subject clearly contains topics related to the functioning of local government and democratic participation opportunities at the local level. Clearly, pupils here have shown a lack of political literacy with regard to democratic participation at local level. The third cluster we focused on in this analysis concentrates on the theme of non-conventional means of democratic participation. While conventional forms of political participation are practically indispensable in democratic societies, there are a number of other possibilities how citizens can contribute meaningfully and substantially to the society in which they live. It seems rather obsolete to repeat how current societies experience widespread young people's distrust in voting and other conventional democratic options. However, it is increasingly apparent also through re- 55 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 search-based evidence, that large numbers of young people are committed to unconventional and civic action in their respective countries: Whereas, in the past, issues of concern might have mobilized them into voting for particular candidates or writing to their elected representatives, these same issues today might be tackled instead through consumer activism, protests and demonstrations, activity on social media, charitable fundraising or voluntary work in the community (Barrett, 2018). Citizenship education in schools must as such necessarily include and deliver to pupils in an appealing manner not only the knowledge about standard and traditional participation possibilities but also new compelling and less conventional participatory attitudes and tools. This is important because otherwise the approaches to the curriculum that avoid democratic practices are "likely to negate its ability to produce active citizens and are only likely to exacerbate the apathetic zeitgeist" (Watts, 2006, p. 95). Table 3. Questions on unconventional means ofpolitical participation. Tested learning objective as defined by the syllabus Assignment/ question type Percentage of pupils with correct answer (n=3849) Q7 - What are political demonstrations? Pupils learn about citizens' political rights. A record of the short answer 17 Q8 - A group of citizens signs a request to close a plant that pollutes the environment ofa particular town. Circle the letter in front of a form of citizen action performed by a group of citizens. Select the correct answer by encircling the letter in front of it Pupils learn about citizens' political rights. Multiple Choice 70 So in the third cluster, just one task from the exam was included but with two distinct questions. The first question (Q7) included in the analysis under this cluster asked pupils about the meaning of the term political demonstration. The answers that were considered as correct had to be logically related to the basic definition of demonstration available in the official Slovenian dictionary (mass expression of mood, usually in protest, but also of support. The second question (Q8) in this cluster described a concrete non-conventional participatory action of a group of citizens: the signing of a request to close a plant that pollutes the environment of a 56 M. BANJAC ■ KNOWLEDGE ON POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AMONG BASIC SCHOOL PUPILS small town. The pupils were asked to correctly identify what kind of political non-conventional (civic) action was used. The correct answer among several given was "petition". Within this cluster, there was a high discrepancy between the percentage of correct answers on two different questions. While pupils had many difficulties in explaining what political demonstrations are, they did well in correctly identifying an unconventional type of political participation. Of course, the immediate question is why such a difference, given that both questions addressed the same topic (unconventional forms of participation). One of the possible answers to this is the type of task given. The task Q7 demanded a short written answer, while Q8 was a multiple-choice task. As already said, pupils usually solve the latter more successfully. Having said that, it is striking that pupils are so limited in finding the correct descriptive answer to a question at the first taxonomic level, which means that their political literacy in unconventional political participation is at least questionable. Conclusion With regard to the issue of the youth's political participation, citizenship education, within formal education system, is in, one can say, a turbulent and contradictory position. On the one hand, democratic states still predominantly, if not exclusively, rest on the representative political system that cannot do without traditional participatory mechanisms such as voting. On the other, heterogeneous voices, including young people, exhort dissatisfaction with conventional liberal democratic participatory means and frequently resort to novel democratic forms of participation, including those that are now classically identified as unconventional (Pit-ti, 2019). As has been suggested, political action is changing in form, from consisting of mainly election-based activities to encompassing a wide repertoire of both these more traditional, institutionalised activities and extra-institutional, direct forms of political action [...] (Rooij and Reeskens, 2014, p. 185). And schools never operate in vacuum. Biesta (2008, p. 170) reminds us that schools are as such continually mandated to revitalise citizenship, "often fuelled by concerns about decreasing levels of civic participation and political involvement". This article suggests that although citizenship education within formal education is in the context of its mandate to raise the youth's interest in participation frequently submerged into depoliticised discourse where any kind of public activity of individuals or groups is deemed active cit- 57 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 izenship, indeed (still) the relevant framework for raising young people's knowledge and skills about political participation. However, as we have discussed, citizenship education in the education system and concretely in schools must grasp and deliver political participation not as a docile and fixed category but as an enabling activity through which young people's subjectivities are shaped and through which pupils are gaining capacities to critically approach and use formal democratic participation means while also seeking unconventional political options to make their voice heard. The White Paper on education in the Republic of Slovenia addresses, albeit understandably very broadly, the above-mentioned challenge. As we have shown, it does this by highlighting the problematic widespread negative portrayal and labelling of politics while also explicitly recognising the need to change this perception by enabling young people with political participation with the awareness that their involvement in political matters means contributing to the arrangement of common affairs. The currently valid Patriotic and Citizenship Culture and Ethics subject curriculum seems to correspond to the vision and aim in the White Paper. The curriculum is, as we have shown, quite rich with the themes that are directly related with political participation. It is well structured in terms of upgrading the level of knowledge about political participation that pupils receive from Year 7 to Year 8. However, as is possible to see, the curriculum itself could contain more of an emphasis on the various forms of political participation, including unconventional forms, so pupils would recognise and be acquainted with the diverse possibilities of political participation available in today's various socio-political contexts. The NAK 2019 on the Patriotic and Citizenship Culture and Ethics subject tested also pupils' knowledge about political participation. The evidence from the analysis of the questions that addressed political participation from a variety of angles shows that the youth who took the test at the end of compulsory education (lower secondary education) are able to recognize basic rules and norms behind democratic procedures of conventional forms of participation. They are also competent in conceiving democratic decision-making in an environment familiar to them. The latter is especially important because participation does not occur only in institutionalised formal settings but most frequently precisely in everyday situations that have the biggest impact on their lives. Having said that, engaged attitudes towards conventional forms of political participation should also be taught and supported within citizenship education. With regard to this, as the analysis showed, the knowledge of pupils who took the test about political parties (concretely, about establishing them) is very 58 M. BANJAC ■ KNOWLEDGE ON POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AMONG BASIC SCHOOL PUPILS good, but on the other hand the knowledge about national electoral systems is lower than expected. The analysis revealed that a large majority of pupils cannot appropriately explain the National Assembly Elections threshold, which indicates that they are not able to comprehend the consequences of attending the elections and casting a vote. While one cannot expect that pupils of this age will know all the details about the Slovenian electoral system, they should be familiar with its key characteristics such as threshold and be able to explain it on a concrete case (such as given in the question). Similarly, there was low knowledge among the pupils who took the test regarding the possible political participation means available to citizens at the local level, e.g. at the municipality level (Q6). Be it on the national or local level, pupils should have more knowledge on the available conventional means of participation, but that in itself is not enough. They must comprehend and be able to critically reflect on the consequences of their political action. If they do not have the ability to do that, then their involvement does not lead to informed actions. It is not enough for them to attend the elections, they must also make informed choices at elections, including with regard to knowledge of the basic procedures within the electoral system and clearly also regarding political party programs. In conclusion, it seems reasonable to once again underline the fact that citizenship education within the formal system is not obsolete. It can and should make a contribution to the political literacy of pupils and prepare them to understand the benefits of their political engagement. Citizenship education in the formal schooling system, in Slovenia as well as everywhere else, is of course not a magic wand that would immediately solve issues pertinent to youth. But with the continuous fostering and support of learning process that emphasises real-life situations in which young people democratically utilize various political participatory tools, citizenship education can contribute to empowering pupils for their future engagements. Literature Banjac, M. (2016) Demokratično državljanstvo med mladimi: znanje slovenskih osnovnošolcev s področja demokracije in človekovih pravic. Razprave in gradivo: revija za narodnostna vprašanja 76, 67-86. Banjac, M., and Pušnik, T. Citizenship Education in Slovenia. http://www. bpb.de/veranstaltungen/netzwerke/nece/206029/citizenship-educa-tion-in-slovenia?p=all (22.9.2019). Barnes, S. H., and Kaase, M. (1979) Political action: mass participation in five Western democracies. Beverly Hills, California: Sage Publications. 59 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 Barrett, M. (2018) Young People's Civic and Political Engagement and Global Citizenship. UN Chronicle, LIV, 4. Bessant, J. (2004) Mixed messages: youth participation and democratic practice. Australian Journal of Political Science 39(2), pp. 387-404. Biesta, G. (2008) School for citizens: civic learning and democratic action in the learning democracy. In Ranson, S., Lingard, B., and Nixon, J. (eds.), Transforming Learning in Schools and Communities: The Remaking of Education for a Cosmopolitan Society, pp. 170-183. London: Continuum. Biesta, G. (2011) Learning democracy in school and society: education, lifelong learning, and the politics of citizenship. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. Biesta, G., and Lawy, R. (2006) From teaching citizenship to learning democracy: overcoming individualism in research, policy and practice. Cambridge Journal of Education 36(1), pp. 63-79. Campbell, D. E. (2009) Civic Engagement and Education: An Empirical Test of the Sorting Model. American Journal of Political Science 53(4), pp. 77I-786. Cankar, G. (2014) O izbiranju tretjih predmetov na nacionalnem preverjanju znanja. https://www.ric.si/mma/O%20izbiranju%20tretjih%20 predmetov%20na%20nacionalnem%20preverjanju%20znanja%20 2014/2014091014582884/ (28.10.2019). Crick, B. (2004) Essays on citizenship. London: Continuum. Dee, T. S. (2004) Are there civic returns to education? Journal of Public Economics 88 (9), pp. 1697-1720. EURYDICE. (2019) Fundamental Principles and National Policies, https:// eacea.ec.europa.eu/national-policies/eurydice/content/fundamen-tal-principles-and-national-policies-77_pt-pt (25.9.2019). Farthing, R. (2010) The politics of youthful antipolitics: representing the 'is-sue'of youth participation in politics. Journal of youth studies 13(2), pp. 181-195. Forbrig, J., (ed.) (2005) Revisiting youth political participation: challenges for research and democratic practice in Europe. Strasbourg: Council of Europe Publishing. Furlong, A., and Cartmel, F. (2007) Young people and social change: individ-ualization and risk in late modernity. Buckingham: Open University Press. Garratt, D. (2000) Democratic citizenship in the curriculum: some problems and possibilities. Pedagogy, Culture & Society 8(3), pp. 323-346. 60 M. BANJAC ■ KNOWLEDGE ON POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AMONG BASIC SCHOOL PUPILS Isin, E. F. (2009) Citizenship in flux: The figure of the activist citizen. Subjectivity 29(1), pp. 367-388. Keating, A., and Janmaat J. G. (2015) Education Through Citizenship at School: Do School Activities Have a Lasting Impact on Youth Political Engagement? Parliamentary Affairs 69(2), pp. 409-429. Kerr, D., Sturman L., Schulz W., and Burge B. (2010) ICCS2009 European Report: Civic Knowledge, Attitudes, and Engagement Among Lower-secondary Students in 24 European Countries, Amsterdam: IEA. Krek, J., and Metljak, M. (2011) Bela knjiga o vzgoji in izobraževanju v Republiki Sloveniji 2011. Ljubljana: Zavod RS za šolstvo. Lawy, R., and Biesta, G. (2006) Citizenship-as-practice: the educational implications of an inclusive and relational understanding of citizenship. British Journal of Educational Studies 54(1), pp. 34-50. McCowan, T. (2009) Rethinking citizenship education: a curriculum for participatory democracy. London: Continuum. Milligan, K., Moretti, E., and Oreopoulos, P. (2004) Does education improve citizenship? Evidence from the United States and the United Kingdom. Journal of Public Economics 88(9), pp. 1667-1695. Ministrstvo za šolstvo in šport. (2011) Program osnovna šola: Državljanska in domovinska vzgoja ter etika. Učni načrt, Ljubljana: Ministrstvo za šolstvo in šport. Olson, M., Fejes, A., Dahlstedt, M., and Nicoll, K. (2015) Citizenship discourses: production and curriculum. British Journal of Sociology of Education 36(7), pp. 1036-1053. Osler, A., and Starkey, H. (2006) Education for democratic citizenship: a review of research, policy and practice 1995-2005. Research Papers in Education 21(4), pp. 433-466. Pérez Expósito, L. (2014) Rethinking political participation: A pedagogical approach for citizenship education. Theory and Research in Education 12(2), pp. 229-251. Pitti, I. (2019) Youth and unconventional political engagement. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Print, M. (2007) Citizenship education and youth participation in democracy. British Journal of Educational Studies 55(3), pp. 325-345. Putnam, R. D. (1995) Tuning In, Tuning Out: The Strange Disappearance of Social Capital in America. PS: Political Science & Politics 28(4), pp. 664-683. Putnam, R. D. (2007) Bowling alone: the collapse and revival of American community. 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(2013) National Assessment in Primary Education in Slovenia: Is it Possible to Implement E-marking in One Year? In IAEA Annual Conference. Tel Aviv. Taštanoska, T. (2015) The Education System in the Republic of Slovenia. Ljubljana: Ministrstvo za izobraževanje, znanost in šport. Topf, R. (1997) Electoral Participation. In Klingemann, H. D., Fuchs, D. and Roberts, K. G. (eds.). Beliefs in Government, Volume 1: Citizens and the State, pp. 27-5i.Guildford: Butterworth Scientific Ltd. Watts, M. (2006) Citizenship education revisited: policy, participation and problems. Pedagogy, Culture & Society 14(1), pp. 83-97. Wood, M., and Flinders M. (2014) Rethinking depoliticisation: beyond the governmental. Policy & Politics 4(2), pp. 151-170. DOI: https://www.doi.org/io.3232o/i58i-6o44.3o(5-6)37-62 62 Expected political participation and demographic changes in Europe Mojca Rozman and Diego Cortes During the last two decades, politics in western societies have faced several challenges. For example, Parvin and Saunders (2018) outline increasing political inequality, the decline of political participation and voter incompetence as some of these major challenges. The European Union (EU) has been no exemption to this and it is currently undergoing one of its most serious political crisis since its establishment. A key ingredient for this crisis has been an increasingly polarized society across several civic and political domains. For example, in May 2019 it was the first time in 40 years that the center-left / center-right European parliamentary coalition lost its majority; going from the previously secured 54% of the seats to just 43%. In many occasions, both right-wing populist parties and liberal green parties outperformed the traditional political parties. Migration has been a central, but not exclusive, issue fueling this political and societal polarization. In this light, the purpose of this paper is to explore whether changes in expected political participation of young European adults during the last decade can be linked with the political crisis associated with the arrival of migrants seeking asylum in Europe. Political participation refers to the engagement of the public in different activities affecting politics. Van Deth (2019) presents the core features of political participation after which any "voluntary, nonprofessional activity concerning government, politics, or the state" represents an example of political participation. Defined as such, participatory activities are for example, voting, demonstrating, signing a petition, etc. Voting is vital in a system of representative democracy. Elections make a fundamen- 63 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 tal contribution to democratic governance, which is conducted through representatives. They enable voters to select leaders and hold them to account for their performance in office. Voting is a form of participation in which each citizen contributes the same assuming that they vote (one person, one vote). The electoral participation is usually measured by a turnout. A turnout represents the ratio between the number of people who attended the elections and the registered number of voters. A fundamental challenge facing the political world is how to manage international forced migration, which appears to endure in the political agenda across countries as the forcibly displaced population continues to increase.1 This challenge has been aggravated in western societies by the rise of ethnic nationalist and populist leaders. In recent years, the Heads of State in the European Union and the United States have openly argued that migrants fleeing from violent conflicts pose a threat to national security. For example, leaders from Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia strongly opposed hosting migrants from Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq during 2015-2016, arguing that Muslims pose a threat to national security and identity. Similarly, in October 2018 the United States' President considered closing the southern border of the United States and deploying the Army on the basis of a "national emergency", when a migrant caravan of about 5,000 Central Americans, mostly women and children, fleeing from violent conflicts was heading towards the United States (for more examples see also Gantt Shafer, 2017). Although the age of 18 years is the legal age for voting in many countries, from an academic and policy perspective it is relevant to focus on political and civic attitudes, perceptions and the behaviour of under aged citizens. Young adults are a good proxy for a nation's future social capital, as adolescence is a crucial period for civic socialization and engagement (Jennings and Stoker, 2004; Smith, 1999). Moreover, the academic literature on social capital suggests that political values and preferences can be transmitted across generations (Alford, Funk and Hibbing, 2005; Jennings and Niemi, 1968; Jennings, Stoker and Bowers, 2009). Furthermore, there is evidence that social networks, such as schools and the community, are important in determining young adults' social capital. Therefore, young adults' expected political participation is a relevant subject to study, as it might reflect future voter turnover, as well as actual societal political participation. 1 Only in 2017, the number of asylum seekers and refugees increased at a rate of 12,000 per day worldwide UNHCR (2018). 64 M. ROZMAN, D. CORTÉS ■ EXPECTED POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AND DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES ... The main objective of the paper is to investigate whether the recent immigration-related demographic change in Europe can be associated with changes in expected political participation of young adults. For this, we relied on three independent data sources from 12 EU-member countries. To capture young adults' expected political participation we relied on data from the International Civic and Citizenship Study (ICCS), a cyclical large-scale assessment in education implemented by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). In this paper, we used data collected for ICCS 2009 and 2016 in each of the 12 selected countries. Moreover, we used data compiled by Eurostat, which captures the number of asylum applications that were lodged in each of the selected countries. Finally, we used data on national voter turnout as reported by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA, https://www.idea.int/ data-tools/country-view/264/40). We began our analysis by looking at the relationship between the change in young adults' expected political participation and the rate of asylum application within a country. We observe changes between years 2009 and 2016 that should capture the changes related to the increased migration into Europe starting in 2015. We found a positive correlation between the change in the expected electoral participation and the national asylum application rates. A higher rate of asylum applications is associated with an increase of expected electoral participation in selected European countries. To complement this finding, we proceeded by investigating whether expected political participation of young adults is associated with actual voter turnouts in the country. We observed this relationship at two time points, first around the year 2009 and second around the year 2016. We found a positive relationship between the percentage of 8th graders that certainly expect to vote in a country and the actual voter turnouts in both time points. This suggests that a higher voter turnout is associated with a larger proportion of students expecting to participate in national elections. This relationship is stronger in 2016 than in 2009. The result is in line with previous research findings in the literature, which point at social networks (i.e., family, school, and community) as determinant factors on civic and political engagement. The remaining sections of this paper are structured as follows. In the next section, we review the academic literature pertinent to this research study. In Section 3, we describe the data employed in our empirical analysis. We continue by providing our results in Section 4. Finally, we present our conclusions in Section 6. 65 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 Literature Review In this section, we review the academic literature related to this research paper. In particular, we focus on two main strands of research bodies. The first one relates to the scientific relevance of studying the (expected) civic and political engagement of eighth graders (i.e., the target population of ICCS). The literature suggests two reasons for this. First, young adulthood is a key formation phase for civic and political socialization and engagement, indicating that eighth graders are a good proxy for a nation's future social capital. For example, Jennings and Stoker (2004) report that pre-adulthood civic engagement, measured as involvement in voluntary organizations, builds predispositions and skills; which they argue are relevant for civic and political engagement later in life. In addition, Smith (1999) documents how political and civic involvement in adulthood is associated with religious participation, participation in extracurricular activities and extensive connection to others during earlier stages of life. The second reason relates to the extensive evidence on the literature suggesting that young adults' civic and political attitudes, perceptions, and behaviour are a reflection of societal attitudes, perceptions, and behaviour; highlighting the relevance of studying adolescents' political and civic engagement. In particular, this literature underscores the relevance of social networks as a critical channel of social capital transmission. For example, Alford, Funk and Hibbing (2005), Jennings and Niemi (1968), and Jennings, Stoker and Bowers (2009) present evidence on the within-family correlation of political values and civic attitudes and behaviour. This suggests that, to some extent, civic and political engagement in pre-adulthood is associated to parental civic and political engagement. Moreover, the school and neighborhood environment have been proven strong determinants of individuals' civic and political attitudes, perceptions and behaviour. For example, Bischoff (2016) suggests that student diversity and the existence of a micro-political environment are two potential mechanisms for civic learning at schools. Similarly, Campbell (2006) emphasizes the importance of communities and schools on shaping individual's civic life. In particular, he proposes a positive relationship between the level of homogeneity within the community and an individual's political and civic engagement. The second strand of research our paper relates to is the academic work investigating how the recent arrival of migrants into Europe impacted political outcomes and civic engagement of native populations. In particular, this literature has focused on changes in local attitudes about and the political behaviour driven by immigration. For example, Dinas et al. 66 M. ROZMAN, D. CORTÉS ■ EXPECTED POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AND DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES ... (2019) report that across the Greek islands on the Aegean Sea, exposure to migrant seeking asylum in Europe induced sizable and lasting increases in locals' hostility towards refugees, immigrants, and Muslim minorities. They also find that exposure increases support for restrictive immigration and asylum policies, as well as political engagement to effect those exclusionary policies. Similarly, Hangartner et al. (2019) show that the vote share for the Greek Golden Dawn political party increased in communities exposed to this migration wave. Finally, Steinmayr (2016) documents that the vote shares secured by right-wing political parties in the 2015 national election in Austria decreased in communities which hosted asylum seekers in that same year. Data We relied on data from three different sources to investigate the association between the recent arrival of migrants into Europe and the expected political participation of young adults. Firstly, we used data from EU member countries participating in ICCS. ICCS is a cyclical international comparative large-scale assessment in education conducted by the IEA in 2009 and 2016. Overall, 38 countries participated in the study in 2009, while 24 did in 2016. We restricted our analysis for countries participating in both cycles of the study (i.e., 2009 and 2016). That is, we used data from the following 12 countries: Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia and Sweden. We excluded data from Belgium, as only the Flanders region participated in both cycles of ICCS and data from the other two sources is not disaggregated in this regard. In all the countries included in our analysis, the legal age of voting is 18 and voting is not compulsory. The survey design of ICCS parallels the design of well-known large-scale assessments in education (i.e., the Trends in Mathematics and Science Study, the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study, and the Programme in International Student Assessment). The target population of the study is students in Grade 8. For each participating country, a representative sample of schools and students is selected using a (stratified) two-stage sampling design. At the first stage, schools are selected independently across sampling strata with a probability proportional to their size. Intact classrooms are then selected within sampled (and participating) schools using a simple random sample (second stage). This implies that selection probabilities of students vary across schools and strata, which underlines the importance of using sampling weights in the analysis to obtain unbiased population estimates (we discuss this further later in the paper). In Table 1, we show school and student sample sizes for the 67 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 2009 and 2016 cycles for the selected EU member countries. Importantly, data from all selected countries met all quality standards established by the IEA to ensure a representative sample of the target population. Table 1. Sample sizes for selected countries participated in ICCS 2009 and 2016. 2009 2016 Schools Students Schools Students Bulgaria 158 3257 147 293i Denmark 193 4508 184 6254 Estonia 140 2743 164 2857 Finland 176 33°7 179 3173 Italy 172 33 66 170 3450 Latvia 15° 2761 147 3224 Lithuania 199 39°2 182 3631 Malta 55 2143 47 3764 Norway 129 3013 148 6271 Slovenia 163 3070 145 2844 Sweden 166 3464 155 3264 The primary objective of ICCS is to measure students' civic knowledge, their understanding of concepts and issues related to civic and citizenship, as well as their civic attitudes and engagement (Schulz et al., 2008; Schulz et al., 2016). Besides being assessed on their civic and citizenship competences, participating students also respond to a questionnaire, which aims to capture students' contextual characteristics, as well as their civic attitudes, perceptions and behaviours. The underlying methodology of the study's design aims at guaranteeing the comparability of results across countries. Furthermore, a special emphasis is put on making results comparable over time within countries. This is important, given the cross-country nature of our analysis and the country-level panel structure of our working database. To capture students' expected political participation, we relied on data from one question that was administered in both ICCS cycles. This question reads as follows: "Listed below there are different ways adults can take an active part in society. When you are an adult, what do you think you will do?".2 In specific, in our analysis we focused on the item "Vote in ", to which students could respond using one of the following statements: "I would certainly do this", "I would probably do 2 In ICCS 2009 the first part of the question was Listed below there are different ways adults can take an active part in political life". 68 M. ROZMAN, D. CORTÉS ■ EXPECTED POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AND DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES ... this", "I would probably not do this", or "I would certainly not do this"3. This was item B in question 32 for ICCS 2009 (IS2P32B) and item B in question 31 for ICCS 2016 (IS3G31B). In column 2 of Table 2, we show -for each selected country - the estimated proportion of 8th grade students that in ICCS 2009 expressed they certainly would vote in a national election. We did the same using data from ICCS 2016 in column 5. In most countries, the likelihood of a student expressing he or she would vote in a national election is higher in ICCS 2016 than in ICCS 2009. Moreover, a cross-country comparison of our variable of interest reveals a similar pattern within each cycle, that is, data from Estonia shows the lowest percentage of students that certainly would vote in both ICCS cycles, while Nordic countries show the highest. As a second source of information, we compiled data from Eurostat about asylum applicants from 2014 until 2018 [migr_asyappctzm] and total population on 1 January 2018 [demo_gind] from the selected EU member countries (https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/data/database). Eurostat is the statistical office of the European Union situated in Luxembourg and its mission is to provide high quality statistics for Europe that enable comparisons between countries and regions. We used this information to construct the variable asylum application per 10,000 inhabitants, as presented in column 8. We defined this variable as the sum of all asylum applications between January 2014 and December 2018 within each country, divided by its total population, and multiplied it by 10,000. Overall, across the selected countries, the asylum application rate fluctuates to a large extent, with Sweden reporting about 315,000 applications and Estonia reporting less than 7,000 in the observed period. Finally, as a third source of data we relied on captures voter turnout in the selected countries. This information is available online from the International IDEA and consists of a comprehensive collection of voter turnout statistics in presidential and parliamentary elections since 1945. We focused only on elections for national assembly (in some countries referred to as parliament, chamber of representatives or chamber of deputies) and took the voter turnout of the election proximate to each ICCS cycle. In column 4 from Table 2 we present the national voter turnout most proximate to ICCS 2009 for each country, while in column 3 we report the year in which the national election was held. Similarly, in column 7 we present the national voter turnout most proximate to ICCS 2016 for each country, while in column 6 we report the year in which the nation- 3 In ICCS 2009 the response options included the word "will" instead of "would". As the meaning of these words from the respondents point ofview does not differ much, we can treat the response options as comparable. 69 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 Table 2. Compiled data from ICCS, voter turnout database and Eurostat. GOS a oog S'aoi Uu V ~ 0 0 vq ^ CD 4 00 VO K vo 00 vo K ^ VO O o O CD O CD O « CD vo vo ^ O O O O K 00 <0 00 vo 00 (D O O O K O O Zoo z Zooz 00 O CD $ K K 00 0 o (D O S^ G O 0.3- SWE LVA 0 100 200 300 Asylum Application Rate Figure 1. Changes in expected voting participation and asylum application rates. This result is relevant for two reasons. First, the arrival of migrants into Europe fueled a political debate on whether member countries have the legal and moral obligation to host asylum seekers. This became a major issue in the agenda of most political parties across EU-member countries in recent national elections. Therefore, the results we document above indicate that the increased political engagement of the European youth can be associated to the arrival of migrants and/or the political debate subsequently triggered. Second, as noted in the literature review, there is evidence in the literature that civic and political engagement of young adults is, to some extent, a reflection of societal civic and political engagement. This suggests that the arrival of migrants might not only be associated with the expected political behaviour of the young population, but rather to actual societal political engagement. We explore this last idea in the next section, in which we look at the correlation between eighth graders expected political participation and actual national voter turnout. Expected political participation and actual turnout We proceeded by providing empirical evidence on the correlates between contemporaneous young adults' political participation expectations and national voter turnouts, which underscores the relevance of the results presented in the previous section. For this, we relied on data from ICCS 2009 and 2016 and national turnout results for the countries selected in 72 M. ROZMAN, D. CORTÉS ■ EXPECTED POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AND DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES ... Figure 2. Expected voting participation from ICCS 2009 and actual turnout. our analysis. As outlined in the literature review section, there is extensive evidence about how social networks (i.e. household, community, and school environment) influence the formation of political and civic engagement. In this section, we provide empirical evidence that support this hypothesis. We began by looking at the relationship between the estimated percentage of eighth grade students that certainly expect to vote in a country - as reported in ICCS 2009 - and the national voter turnout of the parliamentary election most proximate to 2009. For three countries specifically, we looked at the national voter turnout of the 2007 national election, for four countries the national election took place in 2008, two in 2009, and for two in 2010 (see column 3 in Table 2). In Figure 2, we show a visual representation of the positive and relatively strong relationship between these two variables (correlation coefficient is 0.40). On the x-axis, we plot our measure of young adult's political participation expected in 2009, while on the y-axis we plot the national voter turnout. This relationship is evidence that supports the premise that young adults' expected political participation is a good approximation of actual participation in a society. Interestingly, students in Nordic countries are the most certain they would vote in a national election (Sweden, Denmark and Norway), while students in ex-communist countries (Lithuania, Estonia and Bulgaria) show the least expected political participation. 73 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 (D -t—» O > O 0.3 SWE LVA 0 100 200 300 Asylum Application Rate Figure 3. Expected voting participation from ICCS 2016 and actual turnout. The black line represents the prediction line of regressing national voter turnouts on expected political participation and the grey shaded area represents the 95% confidence interval of the predicted values. An increase of one percentage point in the proportion of students that certainly expected to vote will be associated with an increase of about 0.5 percentage points in the actual turnout. This relationship is not statistically significant (p = 0.22). We proceeded by conducting the same analysis using data from ICCS 2016. That is, we looked at the relationship between expected political participation and the election turnout most proximate to 2016, i.e., when data for the ICCS study was collected. In specific, for three countries we looked at the national voter turnout of the 2015 national election, for two countries the national election took place in 2016, for three in 2017, and three in 2018 (see column 6 in Table 2). In Figure 3, we show a visual representation of the positive and strong relationship between these two variables (correlation coefficient is 0.65). On the x-axis, we plot our measure ofyoung adult's political participation expectation in 2016, while on the y-axis we plot the national voter turnout. This relationship is yet another piece of evidence that supports the hypothesis that young adults' expected political participation is a good approximation of actual participation in a society. The black line represents the prediction line of regressing national voter turnouts on expected polit- 74 M. ROZMAN, D. CORTÉS ■ EXPECTED POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AND DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES ... o 0.3- SWE LVA 0 100 200 300 Asylum Application Rate Figure 4. Changes in turnouts and the asylum application rates. ical participation and the grey shaded area represents the 95% confidence interval of the predicted values. An increase of one percentage point in the proportion of students that certainly expected to vote will be associated with an increase of about 0.9 percentage points in the actual turnout. Contrary to 2009, the relationship is statistically significant (p = 0.03). Overall, Figure 2 and Figure 3 suggest two important conclusions. First, in line with previous research findings, we obtain systematic evidence on the positive relationship between young adults' expected political participation and actual participation in a society. The second conclusion is that, among the countries under study, the relationship became stronger in 2016. These two findings highlight the relevance of the positive association we found between the recent arrival of migrants into Europe and the expected political participation of young adults. As a last result, in Figure 4 we show a visual representation of the relationship between national asylum application rates and the change in national voter turnout (i.e., column 7 minus column 4 in Table 2). On the x-axis, we plot the national asylum application rate, while on the y-axis we plot change in national voter turnout. This association suggests that countries with higher asylum application rates from 2014 to 2018 have, on average, a larger and positive change in the previous two national elections. The correlation coefficient between these two variables is 0.24. This result is of a smaller magnitude but in line with the positive and strong association found between young adults' expected political participation and 75 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 asylum application rates (Figure 1) and the positive correlation between young adults' expected political participation and actual turnout (Figure 2 and Figure 3). A possible explanation for the relatively smaller correlation is that the year in which national elections were held across the selected countries varies. That is, the most proximate election to 2016 for three countries was in 2015, possibly before the arrival of migrants into Europe; while, for the other three countries the most proximate election to 2016 was in 2018 (two years after the arrival of migrants). The black line presents the least-squares prediction line and the grey shaded area shows a 95% confidence interval of the predicted values. The biggest drop in voter turnout can be observed in Bulgaria, Italy and Slovenia where the difference in turnout between the two selected elections was more than 10 percentage points. A positive trend in attending elections can be observed in Estonia, Lithuania, Finland, Norway and Sweden, while the participation in elections did not change much during time in Denmark and Malta. As expected, the estimated effect of asylum application rates on the change in voter turnouts is not statistically significant (p = 0.47). Conclusions Young adults play a crucial role in society as they represent the future social capital of a nation. This makes studying civic and political attitudes, perceptions, and behaviour very relevant from an academic and policy perspective. In this paper we have combined data from three data sources to study the relationship between changes in expected voting participation and recent immigration waves in Europe. We relied on data collected for ICCS study conducted in 2009 and 2016, a voter turnout database, and country-level official statistics. We have found that the change in expected electoral participation of students is associated to the number of asylum applications within a country. To gather some evidence that the self-reported data from students reflect the society and societal changes we examined the relationship between expected voting participation and actual voter turnouts in the country. We have found a positive association between these two variables. Our results point to the conclusion that there is an association between the recent migration movements in Europe and the increased political participation in countries. This association is reflected in students and their expectations for future civic and political engagement. The limitations of our study follow. First, the data we used from ICCS was collected across countries at the same point in time, while data from national election turnouts follow a country specific time track (i.e., column 3 76 M. ROZMAN, D. CORTÉS ■ EXPECTED POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AND DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES ... and column 6 in Table 2). Therefore, it might be that the lack of a standardized unit of time when looking at changes over time adds important noise to our empirical analysis. Hence, the results of the difference in turnouts are suggestive and should be interpreted with caution. Second, the data we used in this study is cross-sectional, therefore a causal interpretation of the results is not possible. Finally, we used aggregated data by country; hence, we neglected any within country variation that might be important. Finally, our research provided yet further evidence on the association between community homogeneity and political engagement. As suggested by Campbell (2006), increasing the level of heterogeneity in a community will likely increase the level of political engagement within a society. A demographic change, such as the recent arrival of migrants into Europe, is likely to increase the heterogeneity of a community in many dimensions, which in turn might spark the political engagement of its citizens (either in favour for or against the demographic change). In this paper, we observe this association at the country-level. A promising line of research would be to explore this hypothesis using within-country variation. Exploiting community-level variation on arrival of migrants and using the rich battery of data provided by ICCS could provide important insights on this exciting research topic. Literature Alford, J. R., Funk, C.L., and Hibbing, J. R. (2005) Are political orientations genetically transmitted? American Political Science Review 99, pp. 153-167. Bischoff, K. (2016) The civic effects of schools: Theory and empirics. Theory and Research in Education 14(1), pp. 91-106. https://doi. org/10.1177/1477878515619794 Campbell, D. (2006) Why We Vote: How Schools and Communities Shape Our Civic Life. Princeton University Press. Retrieved from http:// www.jstor.org/stable/jxtt7s11x Dinas, E., Malakos, K., Hangartner, D., and Xefteris, D. (2019) Waking up the Golden Dawn: Does exposure to the refugee crisis increases supports for extreme-right parties? Political Analysis 27(2), pp. 244-254. https://doi.org/10.1017/pan.2018.48 Gantt Shafer, J. (2017) Donald Trump's "Political Incorrectness": Neoliber-alism as Frontstage Racism on Social Media. Social Media + Society, pp. 1—10. https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305117733226 77 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 Hangartner, D., Dinas, E., Marbach, M., Malakos, K., and Xefteris, D. (2019) Does exposure to the refugee crisis makes natives more hostile? American Political Science Review 113(2), pp. 442-455. Jennings, M. K., and Niemi, R. G. (1968) The transmission of political values from parent to child. American Political Science Review 62, pp. 169-184. Jennings, M. K., and Stoker, L. (2004) Social trust and civic engagement across time and generations. Acta Politica 39(4), pp. 342-379. Jennings, M. K., Stoker, L., and Bowers, J. (2009) Politics across generations: Family transmission reexamined. The Journal of Politics 71(3), pp. 782-799. Parvin, P., and Saunders, B. (2018). The Ethics of Political Participation: Engagement and Democracy in the 21st Century. ResPublica 24(1), pp. 3-8. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11158-017-9389-7 R Core Team (2018) R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. URL https://www.R-project.org/ Smith, E. S. (1999) The effects of investment in the social capital of youth on political and civic behavior in young adulthood: A longitudinal analysis. Political Psychology 20(3), pp. 553-580. Schulz, W., Fraillon, J., Ainley, J., Losito, B., and Kerr D. (2008) International Civic and Citizenship Education Study: Assessment Framework. IEA Secretariat: Amsterdam. Schulz, W., Ainley, J., Fraillon, J., Losito, B., and Agrusti, G. (2016) IEA International Civic and Citizenship Education Study 2016: Assessment Framework. IEA Secretariat: Amsterdam. Steinmayr, A. (2016) Exposure to refugees and voting for the far-right: (Unexpected) results from Austria. IZA Discussion Paper. UNHCR (2018) Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2017. Geneva: UNHCR. Van Deth, J. W. (2016) What is Political Participation? Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. DOI: 10.1093/ acrefore/9780190228637.013.68 DOI: https://www.doi.org/io.3232o/i58i-6o44.3o(5-6)63-78 78 Bullying of eighth graders in Slovenian primary schools (Secondary analysis of ICCS 2016) Spela Javornik, Plamen Mirazchiyski and Nada Trunk Sirca Bullying has been a matter of concern for a long time, one of the first authors writing about that issue was Olweus (1997, p. 496), who exposed three main criteria for bullying. The first criteria characterizing bullying is "aggressive behavior or intentional harm doing", secondly, bullying is "repeatedly and over time" and third, "in an interpersonal relationship characterized by an imbalance of power". Authors in literature argue, that students who were bullied and also bully, »reported low academic achievement, loneliness, and psychosocial maladjustment« (Nan-sel et al. 2001; in Dorio et al., 2019). Some studies found bullying others to be associated with low SES, including economic disadvantage, poverty, and low parental education. Additionally, where composite measures have been used, children from low socioeconomic backgrounds have been found to bully others slightly more often. (Tippett and Wolke, 2014, p. 48). Bullying affects the climate in classroom and school and it has an impact on relationships among students, the relationship between bullying and the school climate is actually reciprocal (Brandyopathyay et al., 2009; Golstein et al., 2008, in Pecjak and Pirc, 2017, p. 76). The main goal of this study is to research bullying in the eighth grade in Slovenian schools, how often they are bullied, the relationship with SES and background and contextual factors. The study will test if Slovenian eighth-graders with lower socio-economic status (SES) tend to be more frequently exposed to peer violence than the ones with higher SES and how is peer violence connected to different contextual factors that 79 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXX, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 can be found in contextual questionnaires of the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) 2016. Theoretical framework Kristančič (2002, p. 97) defined violence as "a symptom of aggressive and hostile activities of individual groups and their members". He describes aggression as "all activities executed so as to cause damage to another person, animals and inanimate objects" (ibid., 98).1 Merrell et. al. (2008, p. 26) defined bullying as repeated acts of aggression, intimidation, or coercion against a victim who is weaker than the perpetrator in terms of physical size, psychological/social power, or other factors that result in a notable power differential. There are different divisions of peer violence among researchers. Ol-weus (1993, in Pečjak, 2014) distinguishes between direct peer violence (overt assault on a person) and indirect bullying (social isolation and exclusion). Sullivan (2011) divides bullying into physical (beat with injury, deliberate kicking, stripping, lashing, restraining, biting, overthrowing, pushing, deliberately damaging an individual's property or destroying his or her personal objects) and psychological violence (assaulting an individual's interior). Mental violence is further divided into verbal and non-verbal violence (direct non-verbal, indirect non-verbal and/or relational violence). Berger (2007, in Pečjak, 2014) conducted a survey reviewing contributions to peer violence and summarized four main categories: physical violence (urging, kicking, damaging property of another), relational violence (manipulation of interpersonal relationships), verbal violence (teasing) and online bullying (spreading rumors online or sending offensive phone messages). Bučar Ručman (2009, in Javornik and Klemenčič, 2019) claims that there are three main categories of violence among students in school; physical, psychical and sexual violence. There is a connection between social conditions and delinquency of students, which many studies have shown. Daniels (2017, p. 2) summarized three main forms of bullying; overt bullying, covert bullying and cyberbullying. For boys the most common forms are physical bullying and harassment, which is part of overt bullying. Studies found verbal violence more among girls, for example name-calling or making gestures, spreading rumors, excluding an indi- 1 Summarized from Javornik and Klemenčič, 2019, p .1 80 Š. JAVORNIK ET AL. ■ BULLYING OF EIGHTH GRADERS IN SLOVENIAN PRIMARY SCHOOLS vidual, which is a part of covert bullying. Text messaging, posting photos of someone on the internet are known as cyberbullying. Overall, the most frequent form of bullying is verbal bullying and the least common form of violence is physical violence (Marsh et al., 2011; Polak et al., 2011; Wang, Iannotti and Nansel, 2009, in Pečjak and Pirc, 2017, p. 75). Cyberbullying is increasing as well (Kowalski et al., 2012; Smith et al., 2008; Wang et al., 2009, in Pečjak and Pirc, 2017, p. 75). Davis et al. (in Berčnik and Tašner, 2018, p.75) argue that there are different factors that can influence bullying at school, they called them "risk factors" and divided them into three groups, which can be family-based (lack of supervision, lack of clearly established boundaries, social circumstances), school-based (level of tolerance, random staff), dependence on the local community (the degree of crime, dangerous neighborhoods, social imbalance) or they can be of a wider social nature (violence in the media). Tippett and Wolke (2014) conducted a systematic literature review about bullying in connection with socioeconomic status and they found 28 studies that reported the association of socioeconomic status and school bullying.2 For example, Due et al. (2009) conducted a study that has shown that students with lower socioeconomic status are more frequently bullied than adolescents from families with higher socioeconomic status. "The school as an institution has a major role in limiting peer bullying" (Pečjak and Pirc, 2017, p. 74). Students spend a lot of time in class and school is a wider factor that can influence students' behaviour and bullying as well (Farrell et al., 2017, p. 3). Teachers have an important role in class, they can create a class climate that can also affect bullying behaviours and furthermore they can model anti-bullying attitudes which can lead to a decrease of school bullying. (Volk et al., 2016, in Farrell et al., 2017, p. 3). The school climate and quality of relationships in school can influence students' achievements (Bear et al., 2014, p. 340). In addition, student participation at the school level, the interpersonal climate at school or in the classroom, and the quality of student-teacher relationships and relationships among students themselves are important factors as well (Klemenčič, Mirazchiyski and Novak, 2018, p. 85)/ 2 Summarized from Javornik and Klemenčič, 2019, p. 2 3 Summarized from Javornik and Klemenčič, 2019, p. 1 81 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 Methodology4 This section describes the methodology of the secondary analyses. The main focus of the study is the school bullying of students. The specifics of the study require some clarifications on the measure in focus (school bullying) and the individual background and contextual variables used for testing their association with school bullying. Data This study uses data from the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) 2016. The study was conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievements (IEA) and in Slovenia, ICCS 2016 was conducted by the Educational Research Institute (ERI). In 1999, when the first cycle was conducted, the study was known by a different name; CivEd. The second and third cycle of the study was in 2009 and 2016, and named ICCS (Klemenčič, Mirazchiys-ki and Novak, 2018, p. 6). The study uses national database for secondary analyses. The sample is representative for eighth grade students from Slovenia, meeting the sampling requirements of ICCS. In the national sample of ICCS 2016 2,844 eighth-graders took part in the study (ibid.: p. 26). The ICCS study "investigates the ways in which young people are prepared to undertake their roles as citizens". In the study, eighth grade students were included in 24 educational systems (Schulz et al., 2016). In ICCS 2016, several items were used to construct the Students' Experiences of Physical and Verbal Abuse at School (i.e. bullying) was constructed using data from the following group of statements on how often the students experienced any of the following at school in the last three months (Schulz and Friedman, 2018): - A student called you by an offensive nickname - A student said things about you to make others laugh - A student threatened to hurt you - You were physically attacked by another student - A student broke something belonging to you on purpose - A student posted offensive pictures or text about you on the Internet Each of the statements has four response categories: "Not at all", "Once", "2 to 4 times", and "5 times or more". The scaling procedure for constructing the scale used the IRT Generalized Partial Credit Model (GPCM) for estimating the item locations (Schulz and Friedman, 2018). 4 Summarized from Klemenčič et al. (2019, pp. 140-143); Javornik and Klemenčič (2019, pp. 1-2). 82 Š. JAVORNIK ET AL. ■ BULLYING OF EIGHTH GRADERS IN SLOVENIAN PRIMARY SCHOOLS Lower values mean a lower frequency of being bullied and higher values mean a higher frequency of being bullied. The model used the thresholds between categories. The parameter estimation used the student data from all countries participating in ICCS 2016 where each country was equally weighted, so that all countries provided the same number of students to ensure an equal contribution to the item parameter estimates. The item parameters were then used to compute the individual student scores on the scale using Weighted Likelihood Estimation (WLE). The obtained scores were in logit metric and the final scores were obtained by linearly transforming the original metric to one with a center point of 50 and standard deviation of 10. The reliability of the scale (Cronbach alpha) for Slovenia is 0.76 (Schulz and Friedman, 2018). The results of the study can help in the understanding of what are the different forms of bullying (verbal vs. physical) in grade eight. The values on the bullying scale represent the frequency on the experience with different kinds of bullying. The students are sampled as intact classes and the teachers are sampled randomly within the school. The reason for this is that in most countries participating in ICCS, no civic curriculum exists or it is spread across the social science subjects. This means that there is no particular teacher teaching the sampled class of students in civic and citizenship education. The relationship between the students being bullied scale and teacher characteristics and attitudes have to be tested. ICCS teacher data was aggregated on the school level. The categorical teacher variables were aggregated by taking the most frequent response category per variable of interest and assigning it to all the teachers in the school. The resulting variables are then treated as school-level variables. Method In this paper we focus on the following research questions (RQ): - How the socio-economic status (SES) of students differ based on how often they are bullied? - How is SES associated with different forms of bullying? - How is peer violence connected to different contextual factors that can be found in contextual questionnaires? There are different ways to measure SES, in ICCS it is measured with three variables; the educational level of parents, with their occupation and the third is the number of books that students have at home (Schulz et al., 2018). ICCS 2016 showed an association between a parent's occupation and a student's civic knowledge. The results showed that a student's civ- 83 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 ic knowledge is also connected to the number of books that student has at home. Furthermore there is a connection between civic knowledge and higher education (short-cycle tertiary education (ISCED 5) and bachelor or equivalent (ISCED 6)) (Klemencic, Mirazchiyski and Novak, 2018, p. 59). Taking into account the findings in the literature and previous research, we expect to find an association between student SES (as defined above) and exposure to peer violence of eighth-graders in Slovenia. The IEA IDB Analyzer used creates SPSS or SAS syntax that can be used to combine selected files and perform analysis with databases. "It generates SPSS or SAS syntax that takes into account information from the sampling design in the computation of sampling variance, and handles the plausible values" (IDB Analyzer, 2019). We used the IDB Analyzer with SPSS. First, we used merge module in IDB Analyzer to get the data we wanted for Slovenian students in the eighth grade of elementary schools. After that we used the Analysis module of IDB Analyzer to test the association between SES and bullying. We used the data from international Student Questionnaire file. Linear regression was performed to test the association between bullying ("Students experience of physical and verbal abuse") and with variable "National index of socioeconomic status". The first variable consisted of the variables that define different forms of bullying (see Table 2) and, as we said before, the second variable (SES) was measured with three variables. We also tested the variables on facing different bullying situations separately in association with SES and used a different reference category in several combinations with and without plausible values. Furthermore, we tested the connection between the level of student's civic knowledge and bullying in Slovenia. We divided the variable "National index of socioeconomic status" into three categories to see if there would be any different results. Further analyses were divided into three parts. The first part tested the relationship between bullying and different individual and family background (e.g. student gender, migration background, family socio-economic status, etc.) and contextual (e.g. school location, school safety, school climate, etc.) variables with being bullied at school. There are two types of background and contextual variables in the data: 1. Categorical, these are Likert-type questions with a fixed number of categories the respondent can choose from as ordinal variables in the data, e.g. "Never", "Sometimes", "Often", and "Very often"; and 84 Š. JAVORNIK ET AL. ■ BULLYING OF EIGHTH GRADERS IN SLOVENIAN PRIMARY SCHOOLS 2. Continuous variables with a ratio or scale level of measurement. These variables were obtained from the responses of sets of questions using IRT (see the previous section for more details). The analysis of the relationship between the students being bullied and the categorical variables was done by computing the average of the bullying scale for each category a respondent (student, student teachers and school principals) chose. The differences between the means across categories (each mean with each mean) were then tested for statistical significance using multiple dummy coded regression. The report includes results only for those categorical variables in the data which showed significant relationship with being bullied. The table below presents an example using the statement "Most teachers are interested in students' well-being" from ICCS student questionnaire and the bullying scale. Table i. Differences in the averages of being bullied between categories of"Most teachers are interested in students' well-being", ICCS 2016. Strongly disagree Disagree Agree Strongly agree Strongly disagree 0 -2.79 T -4.2I T -4.36 ▼ Disagree 2.79 i 0 -I.42 T -L57 T Agree 4.21 A I.42 A 0 Strongly agree 4.36 * L57 4 °J5 0 The first column contains the reference category, i.e. the one against which the comparison groups are compared. The values in the rows represent the differences of the comparison group with the reference group. The values can be compared by row. In this case, students who disagree that most teachers are interested in student well-being have 2.79 score points less on the being bullied scale (-2.79, that is, less frequently bullied) than those who strongly disagree. Those who agree have 4.21 score points lower (-4.21) on the bullying scale than those who strongly disagree. Students who strongly agree have 4.46 score points lower (-4.36) on the bullying scale than those who strongly disagree. The black rectangles next to the values pointing up flag higher significant difference of the comparison group. Black rectangles pointing down flag significantly lower difference for the comparison group. No rectangle next to the values indicate that the difference is not statistically significant. For example, students who strongly agree have 0.15 score points (-0.15) lower score on the bullying scale compared to those who agree, but the difference is statistically insignificant besides being rather small. 85 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 The relationship between the bullying at school continuous scale and the other contextual continuous scales was tested using Pearson product-moment correlation. The report presents only the coefficients for those contextual variables which have a statistically significant correlation with the scale on being bullied. Besides testing which background and contextual variables are related to school bullying, it is also important to test which of the contextual and background characteristics are related to each other. This could indicate which of these variables (1) could have a combined effect on school bullying; and (2) this information could also identify the areas where the educational system can intervene. This second part of the analysis uses all the variables identified from the first part. However, the number of variables have to be reduced for the following reasons: 1. Some of the background and contextual variables form groups under a single theme (e.g. student perception on the openness of classroom discussion) and are expected to correlate between each other. 2. Many of the variables mentioned in the previous point are part of complex scales and, of course, correlate with them because the complex scales contain the information from these variables. Thus, the variables which fall within the previous two points were identified and removed in advance from the analyses of the correlations. This way, only variables belonging to different dimensions were used in the analyses of the correlations. It is expected that some correlations will exist between many of the identified variables because many of them are related with the overall context of teaching and learning. Thus, only pairs of variables for which a correlation of at least 0.50 exists were kept in the final results. This way, only the most highly correlated pairs of variables, i.e. the most important ones, were kept. The results are presented in the "Results" section. The third part of the analysis includes multiple linear regression. The original plan for the multivariate analysis was to use a regression model where the association between a student being bullied at school (dependent variable) and student achievement as its predictor (reading or civic knowledge) when controlling for multiple other variables like SES, school environment security, and student behavioral issues among other background and contextual variables from the student, teacher and school variables. However, although statistically significant, the relationship between bullying and student achievement have shown to be very weak, it is close to zero. Thus, the analysis was changed to test the associ- 86 Š. JAVORNIK ET AL. ■ BULLYING OF EIGHTH GRADERS IN SLOVENIAN PRIMARY SCHOOLS ation between a student being bullied and the groups of variables which have shown the most measures related to school bullying. This means controlling each of the predictors for all other predictors at the same time. It is expected that some of the predictors will lose their predicting power (i.e. their regression coefficients will become insignificant) while others will remain statistically significant. In this way we will be able to identify the most strongly related with the bullying variables after controlling for all others in the model. The results are presented in the "Results" section. Results5 This study didn't show an association between SES and bullying, which was not expected. We used several combinations of different forms of bullying and the frequency of being abused, but the regression coefficient was low and there was very small or none statistical significance in report. Slovenia is one of the most egalitarian countries, when it comes to wealth and it has a very low Gini coefficient and that can be one of the reasons why we did not find associations with SES and bullying, which is of course a good thing for Slovenia. The Gini Coefficient is defined as "the relationship of cumulative shares of the population arranged according to the level of equivalised disposable income, to the cumulative share of the equivalised total disposable income received by them" (Eurostat, 2018). In 2017, Slovenia had a Gini index of 23.7 and in comparison to other EU countries, only Slovakia scored better with 23.2 (ibid.), so there are small differences in Slovenia and it has one of the lowest inequality rates. The study has shown that students' civic knowledge and bullying at schools are connected in a way that we can assume, students who are abused less often tend to have higher civic knowledge. Those students who score higher in civic knowledge proficiency test tend to be less often victims of school violence. This is an interesting result, although we cannot fully explain it. We can only speculate that, in general, it is possible that students with higher civic knowledge can have the social competences to mitigate situations in which other students attempt bullying them and, thus, avoid being bullied. The ICCS data, however, does not provide any data on student social skills and competences, but the literature shows the connection between social skills and bullying. People who are more socially competent usually has better emotional control and they are also better in solving interpersonal problems with avoiding more conflict and more successful in defending themselves from aggression (Del Prette and Del Prette, 2013, in Silva, 2018, p. 1086). It is important to improve the so- 5 Summarized from Klemencic et al., 2019, pp. 140-143; Javornik and Klemencic, 2019, pp. 1-2 and some parts are added. 87 rjQ n o p rt ^ p- c O (-t rT C 3 P- p- § 5 " S t-t O 1 m a P- O C ■ 3 . ^3 O ^ P- ^ C rt rt P- n rt 3 ^3 tr n tö o rt rt 3 H O C P- n> P- O tr a 3 Country A student called you by an % A student said things abou to make others laugh % you A student threatened % Belgium (Flemish) 58 (1,5) A 53 (1,2) V 21 (1,1) Bulgaria 53 (1,3) 60 (1,3) A 20 (1,0) Chile 52 (0,9) V 59 (0,7) A 16 (0,7) Chinese Taipei 36 (1,0) T 42 (1,0) ▼ 5 (0,4) Colombia 61 (1,2) A 61 (1,3) A 15 (0,6) Croatia 70(1,1) A 63 (1,2) A 25 (1,1) Denmarkt 44 (1,1) ▼ 60 (1,1) A 14 (0,6) Dominican Republic 54(1,2) 66 (0,9) A 27 (1,0) Estonia1 55 (1,4) 64 (1,2) A 19(1,1) Finland 42 (1,1) T 51 (1,0) V 15 (0,8) Italy 52 (1,1) V 42 (1,0) ▼ 17 (0,9) Latvia1 60 (1,0) A 44 (1,1) T 23 (1,1) Lithuania 59 (1,1) A 67 (1,0) A 21 (1,0) Malta 58 (0,8) A 65 (0,8) A 29 (0,8) Mexico 63 (1,1) A 64 (1,0) A 19 (0,8) Netherlandst 48 (1,4) V 43 (1,3) ▼ 13 (0,7) Norway (9)1 56 (1,1) 59 (1,0) A 19 (1,0) Peru 64 (0,9) A 60 (0,9) A 20 (0,9) Russian Federation 61 (1,2) A 49 (1,0) V 21 (0,9) Slovenia 58 (1,3) A 59 (1,0) A 20 (0,9) Sweden1 44 (1,4) T 54 (1,3) V 17 (1,2) ICCS 2016 average 55 (0,3) 56 (0,2) 19 (0,2) Countries not meeting sample participation requirements Hong Kong SAR I 52 (1,6) 66 (1,2) Korea, Republic of2 | 45 (1,7) 28 (1,4) Benchmarking participant not meeting sample participation requirements North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany)1 | 43 (1,8) 50 (1,6) National ICCS 2016 results are more than 1 o percentage or 3 scoe points above average A A significantly above average A A significantly below average v V more than 10 percentage points or 3 score pdnts below average ▼ » A student posted offensive You were physically attacked A student broke something pictures or text about you on Average scale scores for by anot % belonging to % purpose. the Internet % students' reports physical or verbal at use A 17 (0,9) 14 (0,8) V 6 (0,7) V 50 (0,2) 17 (1.D 17 (1,1) V 12 (1,0) 51 (0,3) A V 15 (0,5) V 23 (0,8) A 10 (0,5) 50 (0,2) ▼ 11 (0,6) V 8 (0,5) ▼ 6 (0,5) V 46 (0,2) ▼ V 17 (0,6) 31 (1,1) A 8 (0,5) V 51 (0,3) A A 20 (1,1) A 23 (1,1) A 8 (0,7) 52 (0,3) A V 12 (0,6) V 14 (0,7) V 9 (0,5) 49 (0,2) V A 27 (1,0) A 31 (1,0) A 10 (0,6) 52 (0,2) A 14 (0,8) V 16 (0,7) V 11 (0,8) 50 (0,3) V 14 (0,8) V 8 (0,6) T 7 (0,5) V 48 (0,2) V V 11 (0,7) V 29 (1,2) A 6 (0,5) V 49 (0,2) V A 19 (0,9) A 24 (1,2) A 10 (0,7) 50 (0,2) 14 (0,9) V 19 (1,2) 14 (0,9) A 51 (0,2) A A 24 (0,6) A 20 (0,7) 13 (0,6) A 52 (0,2) A 20 (0,8) A 28 (1,0) A 11 (0,6) A 52 (0,3) A V 11 (0,7) V 13 (0,8) V 6 (0,6) V 47 (0,3) V 18 (0,8) A 19 (1,0) 13 (0,5) A 50 (0,3) 20 (0,8) A 27 (0,9) A 11 (0,7) A 51 (0,2) A A 9 (0,5) V 25 (1,1) A 13 (0,8) A 49 (0,3) V 17 (0,9) 27 (0,9) A 11 (0,8) 51 (0,2) A 16 (1,2) 15 (1,1) V 9 (0,6) 49 (0,4) V 16 (0,2) 20 (0,2) 10 (0,1) 50 (0,1) 27 (1,3) 18 (1,3) 14 (1,0) 52 (0,3) 13 (0,8) 10 (0,7) 5 (0,6) 46 (0,3) 17 (1,1) 18 (1,1) 8 (0,8) 49 (0,3) A A X n 1 Ll u is, 3 ST1 5- B r-t D^ rD CD 3 ^o £ B- rD a fD TD 3 3 2 S D- izr si 5' aq tr n 3 aq Š. JAVORNIK ET AL. ■ BULLYING OF EIGHTH GRADERS IN SLOVENIAN PRIMARY SCHOOLS t Met guidelines for sampling paticipation rates only after replacement schools were included. 1 National Defined Population covers 90% to 95% of National Target Population 2 Country surveyed target grade in the first half of the school year. Source: Schulz et al., 2016, p. 157. Table 3. The forms of bullying to which students were exposed during the last three months in Slovenia. to Not at all Once 2 to 4 times 5 times or more A student called you by an offensive nickname. 42.26 (1.28) 24.14 (0.84) 17.00 (0.91) 16.61 (0.82) A student said things about you to make others laugh. 40.60 (0.97) 28.25 (0.76) 18.29 (0.81) 12.85 (0.78) A student threatened to hurt you. 80.11 (0.86) 11.73 (0.62) 5.30 (0.45) 2.86 (0.31) You were physically attacked by another student. 83.18 (0.85) 10.86 (0.69) 3.20 (0.41) 2.75 (0.3i) A student broke something belonging to you on purpose. 72.85 (0.90) 19.22 (0.82) 5.33 (0.43) 2.60 (0.30) A student posted offensive pictures or text about you on the internet. 88.95 (0.79) 7.64 (0.63) 1.95 (°.26) 1.46 (0.25) Source: Klemencic, Mirazchiyski and Novak, 2018, p. 92. cial skills of students who are being victims, and »to promote greater social and emotional skills, which can reduce the vulnerability to bullying by facilitating friendships, conflict resolution, emotional self-control and adaptive coping strategies" (Silva et al., 2016; Terroso et al., 2017, in Silva, 2018, p. 1086). The table above presents the students' answers to the statements related to school bullying from the student questionnaire (the standard errors are in parentheses). In comparison to other participating educational systems, Slovenia is significantly above average in three of the six different forms of bullying ("A student called you by an offensive nickname", "A student said things about you to make others laugh", "A student broke 89 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 something belonging to you on purpose"). Overall, eighth-graders in Slovenia are more likely to report peer violence than the international average. Educational systems with high percentages of reported peer violence are Croatia, the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Lithuania, Malta, Mexico, Peru and Slovenia. The least violence is detected in Chinese Taipei, Finland, Italy, Netherlands, the Russian Federation and Sweden (Kle-mencic, Mirazchiyski and Novak, 2018, p. 92). Table 3 reports the results of experiencing different forms of bullying, for eighth graders from Slovenia. About 28% of students' reported that they experienced once that another student said things about him/ her to make others laugh, about 18% were exposed to the same form of bullying two to four times in the last three months prior to data collection. Almost 17% of eighth-graders experienced five or more times in the last three months (a survey was conducted before summer 2016) being called an offensive nickname by another student. Threats with physical violence, or even physical assault, were less frequent, however, more than 10% of students experienced threats or physical assault at least once in the last three months. About 19% of students reported that another student intentionally harmed them at least once in the last three months. A lower rate of reported cyberbullying was also detected. The majority of eighth-graders in Slovenia were not exposed to bullying in the last three months prior to data collection. Table 4. Frequencies for SES by categories. SES by categories N of cases Sum of TOTWGTS Sum of TOTWGTS (s.e.) Percent Percent SE Low SES 480 2954 151,05 17,00 0,83 Medium SES 1766 10771 294,26 6i,99 1,27 High SES 598 3652 268,40 21,01 1,37 SES has been also divided into three categories, to see, if there would be any differences in results. The divided categories are Low SES, Medium SES and High SES, as Table 4 shows. IDB Analyzer with SPSS was used for computing the frequencies and percentages of students. As we can see from the table above, 62% of Slovenian eighth-graders belong to the category with medium SES. We computed the means of being bullied at school by the level of SES we categorized (see Table 4). However, the results showed very weak or no statistically significant relationship between SES and bullying. Nevertheless, even if low, violence in schools is 90 Š. JAVORNIK ET AL. ■ BULLYING OF EIGHTH GRADERS IN SLOVENIAN PRIMARY SCHOOLS still present and any level of bullying in a school is too high, so we should therefore work towards decreasing it. The results from the multiple linear regression (see the "Methodology" section) are presented below. All the results are reported using standardized regression coefficients because the different variables can have different metrics. Two groups of variables were identified as containing the most variables related to the frequency of a student being bullied: student civic behavior and knowledge, and the school climate (positive school environment). The full list of variables can be found below. - Student interest in social and political issues (composite scale, student questionnaire) - Student discussion on political and social issues outside the school (composite scale, student questionnaire) - Student expected participation in illegal protest activities (composite scale, student questionnaire) - Student expected participation in legal activities (composite scale, student questionnaire) - Student expected active political participation (composite scale, student questionnaire) - Student participation in the wider community (composite scale, student questionnaire) - Student participation at school (composite scale, student questionnaire) - Student perception on the importance of personal responsibility for citizenship (composite scale, student questionnaire) - Student perception of the value of participation at school (composite scale, student questionnaire) - Student endorsement of gender equality (composite scale, student questionnaire) - Student positive attitude towards Slovenia (composite scale, student questionnaire) - Student trust in civic institutions (composite scale, student questionnaire) - Student engagement with social media (composite scale, student questionnaire) - Student perception of student interaction at school (composite scale, student questionnaire) - Student perception of student-teacher relations (composite scale, student questionnaire) 91 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 - Students and teachers taking part in human rights projects (teacher questionnaire) - Students and teachers visiting political institutions (teacher questionnaire) - Teacher perception on teacher participation at school (composite scale, teacher questionnaire) - Teacher perception on their preparedness to teach civic and citizenship topics (composite scale, teacher questionnaire) - Principal perception of student opportunities to participate in community activities (composite scale, principal questionnaire) - Principal perception on a student's sense of belonging at school (composite scale, principal questionnaire) Most of the variables are student-level variables and are related with student participation and attitudes towards different issues. The teacher variables are aggregated on the school level (see the "Methodology" section). Most of the variables in the list are scales. The only exceptions are two of the teacher-level variables. The multiple regression model is presented below. where Y - the predicted value of student being bullied Y = p 0 + fcSTlNT + P2STDISC + p3STILLEG + p^STLEG + feSTPOLPART + p6STC0MPART + p7STSCHLPART + peSTRESP + PgSTVALPART + p10STGENDEND + puSTATTSLO + p12STTRUST + p13STSOCMED + PuSTSCHINT + p15STTCHREL + p16STTCHHUM + p17STTCHVIS + PigTCHPART + PigTCHPREP + p20PRSTPART + p21PRSTBEL + e B - the model constant ' 0 fi—fi21 - the regression coefficients for the variables listed below STINT - student interest in social and political issues STDISC - student discussion on political and social issues outside the school STILLEG - student expected participation in illegal protest activities STLEG - student expected participation in legal activities STPOLPART - student expected active political participation STCOMPART - student participation in the wider community STSCHLPART - student participation at school STRESP - student perception on the importance of personal responsibility for citizenship STVALPART - student perception of the value of participation at school STGENDEND - student endorsement of gender equality STATTSLO - student positive attitude towards Slovenia 92 Š. JAVORNIK ET AL. ■ BULLYING OF EIGHTH GRADERS IN SLOVENIAN PRIMARY SCHOOLS STTRUST - student trust in civic institutions STSOCMED - student engagement with social media STSCHINT - student perception of student interaction at school STTCHREL - student perception of student-teacher relations STTCHHUM - students and teachers taking part in human rights projects STTCHVIS - students and teachers visiting political institutions TCHPART - teacher perception on teacher participation at school TCHPREP - teacher perception on their preparedness to teach civic and citizenship topics PRSTPART - principal perception of student opportunities to participate in community activities PRSTBEL - principal perception on students' sense of belonging at school e - the model error The results from the multiple linear regression model are presented in the next table. As the results show, the regression coefficients of six variables remain statistically significant even after controlling for each one of the remaining variables. These are the expected student participation in illegal protest activities, the student participation in the wider community, student participation at school, student trust in civic institutions, student interaction at school, and the principal perceptions on student opportunity to participate in community activities. All of these variables are related to student participation (current or future). This is an important finding. Perhaps increasing student participation or preparing them for the future participation could help alleviate the frequency of bullying. Table 5. Results from the multiple linear regression model of bullying, ICCS 2016. Variable Standardized regression coefficient Sig. (SE) Student interest in social and political issues (composite scale, student questionnaire) -O.Ol (0.02) - Student discussion on political and social issues outside the school (composite scale, student questionnaire) O.O4 (0.O3) - Student expected participation in illegal protest activities (composite scale, student questionnaire) 0.07 (0.O3) * Student expected participation in legal activities (composite scale, student questionnaire) O.O3 (0.02) - Student expected active political participation (composite scale, student questionnaire) O.Ol (0.02) - 93 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 Standardized Variable regression coefficient Sig. (SE) Student participation in the wider community (composite scale, student questionnaire) 0.08 (0.02) * Student participation at school (composite scale, student 0.06 (0.02) * questionnaire) Student perception on the importance of personal responsibility for citizenship (composite scale, student questionnaire) 0.01 (0.02) - Student perception of the value ofparticipation at school (composite scale, student questionnaire) 0.03 (0.03) - Student endorsement of gender equality (composite scale, student questionnaire) -0.04 (0.03) - Student positive attitude towards Slovenia (composite scale, student questionnaire) -0.03 (0.03) - Student trust in civic institutions (composite scale, student -0.07 ( ) * questionnaire) Student engagement with social media (composite scale, student questionnaire) 0.03 (0.03) - Student perception of student interaction at school (composite scale, student questionnaire) -0.22 (0.03) * Student perception of student-teacher relations (composite scale, student questionnaire) -0.04 (0.03) - Students and teachers taking part in human rights projects (teacher questionnaire) -0.04 (0.03) - Students and teachers visiting political institutions (teacher -0.03 questionnaire) Teacher perception on teacher participation at school (composite scale, teacher questionnaire) -0.03 (0.02) - Teacher perception on their preparedness to teach civic and citizenship topics (composite scale, teacher questionnaire) 0.03 (0.02) - Principal perception of student opportunities to partici- pate in community activities (composite scale, principal 0.05 (0.02) * questionnaire) Principal perception on students' sense of belonging at school (composite scale, principal questionnaire) * Statistically significant (p<0.0j) The model explains 12% of the variance in the frequency of the student being bullied. Conclusion The research has shown associations between SES and bullying. However, our study did not find any statistical significant relationship between these variables. One of the possible explanations could be that Slovenia, according to the Gini Index or Gini Coefficient, seems to be a very egal- 94 Š. JAVORNIK ET AL. ■ BULLYING OF EIGHTH GRADERS IN SLOVENIAN PRIMARY SCHOOLS itarian society, and there are no major differences in the dispersion of income and wealth. Based on our SES variable, the majority of eighth grade students in Slovenia belong to the middle category with medium socioeconomic status. Findings of the study indicate that students with lower socioeconomic status do not tend to be more frequently subjected to peer violence than those students that live in families with higher economic status. Even if this is good news for us, school violence is still very present in schools around Slovenia. Multiple linear regression has shown that there are some variables that seem to be connected to bullying and peer violence. All of them are related to current and future (anticipated) participation of the students (expected student participation in illegal protest activities, the student participation in the wider community, student participation at school, student trust in civic institutions, student interaction at school, and the principal perceptions on student opportunity to participate in community activities). We can assume that student participation or preparing them for the future participation could reduce the frequency of bullying in school, which is an important finding. An important goal for education is to establish a safe and stimulating learning environment which is necessary for all students regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender or SES. Peer violence and bullying can have terrible and long-lasting consequences, and this is why more research on violence among students is needed. The topic can be further investigated as an important determinant of school climate. This study is a small contribution to researching peer violence, and there are needs for further studies as all violence should be well investigated as well as the background of it in order to contribute to the policies which can prevent these things from happening. Literature Bear, G. G., Yang, C., Pell, M., and Gaskins, C. (2014) Validation of a brief measure of teacher's perceptions of school climate: relations to student achievement and suspensions. Learning Environments Research 17(3), pp. 339-354. Bercnik, S., and Tasner, V. (2018). School and violence. Ars & humanitas: revija za umetnost in humanistiko 12(1), pp. 73-87. Daniels, J. A. (2017) Bullying and School Violence Interventions. In Levesque, R. J. R. 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DOI: https://www.doi.org/io.3232o/i58i-6o443o(5-6)79-97 97 RHETORICAL EDUCATION Debate at the Edge of Critical Pedagogy and Rhetorical Paideia. Cultivating Active Citizens. Foteini Egglezou In the movie Dead Poets Society, the on-screen teacher, John Keating, was using unconventional teaching methods, in order to exhort his students to think about themselves, the world and their position in it under a new perspective. Gaining a new perspective under which students will shape their individual way of thinking and will become critical and active citizens consists of a diachronic and essential goal of various pedagogical approaches. Within the context of the current research, our interest will be focused on two, distant in time pedagogical approaches, which emphatically underline the need as well as the possibility of students' empowerment both as individuals and citizens: a) rhetorical paideia and b) critical pedagogy. In particular, we intend to examine whether the exchange of arguments within a debate may connect critical pedagogy to the teachings of classical rhetorical paideia, which begins with the sophistic movement (Egglezou, 2017). We firmly believe that such an attempt could contribute to the pedagogical empowerment of students as critical thinkers and active citizens within the modern educational system. Before the examination of the hypotheses which lead us to the writing of the current paper, it is important to describe the axes on which debate rotates. Debating consists of a formal dialogic process of exchanging arguments - according to certain rules - between two groups of participants. The controversy is referred to a carefully and intentionally chosen wedge issue of contemporary life, which is inextricably related to the historic, political and social context in which it arises (Erickson et al., 2003). During the debate each group of participants struggles to support 101 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 the 'truth' of its position regarding the topic in an attempt to persuade the audience. Simultaneously, each group adopts a critical stance towards the 'truth' of the opposite team through the formulation of counterarguments, which refute the oppositional thesis before a reasonable audience. It becomes obvious that debate consists of a dynamic, demanding and agonistic process or "intellectual agon" (Daqing, 2010, p. 6806) as well as of a particular form of public dialogue. As such, debate requires participants to develop and to perform complex intellectual and communication skills, which are interwoven with the privilege of free speech. For example, we will refer to skills such as: a) the active listening of opposite arguments, b) the direct critical analysis, deconstruction and the rebuttal of the provided argumentation through critical questions and counterarguments, c) the efficient linguistic support of the subjective interpretation that each team ascribes to the topic through the use of the appropriate arguments, and d) the dialogic communication skills, which are required during the exchange of arguments. An initial hypothesis relative to the examination of the topic might be that debate, both as a process of inquiry and as a thesis defense through the invention of reasonable arguments and counterarguments (Freeley and Steinberg, 2009, p. 2), could easily be accepted, at the same time, by rhetorical and critical pedagogy as a teaching strategy. This is due to the fact that the two latter pedagogical approaches seem to share common ground, as it will be extensively shown in the following parts of our paper. In particular, we could support the idea that rhetorical pedagogy, through debate, offers the possibility of 'new voices' to be heard in contrast to dominant, conservative ideas. For example, we might refer to the voices of oppressed social classes, such as oppressed women or other social minority teams (e.g. refugees) due to the generation of sound arguments. In other words, we could support the idea that debate provides students with the possibility to underline social injustices and to liberate their mode of thinking from conventional, trivial and/or dominant ideas. The participants' thoughts, released from commonly accepted patterns, create the necessary conditions for further activation and action that will ensure the intended social changes. Under this perspective, debate might be connected to the principles forming the general spirit of critical pedagogy. It might become an approach of teaching and learning language, which aims to reform the asymmetries in power and domi- 102 F. EGGLEZOU ■ DEBATE AT THE EDGE OF CRITICAL PEDAGOGY AND RHETORICAL PAIDEIA nance within the context of the existing status quo through the empowerment and emancipation of the oppressed (Kincheloe, 2004). Despite all of the above assumptions, the theoretical research of the topic reveals that in the framework of critical pedagogy, debate as pedagogical practice is a questionable one, as it will be shown below. The contestation of debate stems from epistemic, ideological and/or political reasons, while its use discerns critical pedagogy from the critical thinking movement. As a result, debate is accepted as an educational strategy, essential in cultivating critical thinking (Freeley and Steinberg, 2009, p. 3). For this reason, Protagoras' dissoi logoi have been re-casted as modern educational practices. For example, we may recall the "believing game" and the "doubting game" of Peter Elbow (1986) that aim to cultivate students' argumentation for the truth of a topic, only to doubt it at a second level. In the same vein, Angelo and Cross (1993) use a pro/con grid in order to shortly analyze students' existing perceptions of a topic just by examining both sides of it. On the contrary, the neo-marxist point of departure of critical pedagogy (Porfilio and Ford, 2015, p. xvi) as well as the emphasis which it places on the elimination of neo-capitalist dominant ways of thinking (such as the unequal distribution of power) and of fake social convictions (such as the conviction of equal possibility and meritocracy) - being in accordance to the basic principles and positions of the Frankfurt School - distinguish critical pedagogy from the critical thinking movement. The latter is considered as a critical approach which aims mainly at the cultivation and evolution of individual thought without a guarantee of its positive contribution to the (re)formulation of social becoming (Paul and Elder, 2002). In this conflictual context, debate, through the lens of critical pedagogy, is considered as a tool which reproduces forms of power and rationality that represent and incorporate a systemic and trivial way of perceiving reality, because of "the antagonistic interests" (Adorno, 1974, p. 17) that agonism cultivates. As a consequence, debate strays far from the framework of critical pedagogy, while the pre-mentioned approaches are examined as distinct or even opposite aspects of the so-called trend of critical teaching (Burbules and Berk, 1999). Furthermore, within the same context of discordance, the agonistic nature of debate is decried. Specifically, it is supported that the extended use of debate consists of an important cause for the formation of a deeply polarized, conflictual or/and polemical argumentative culture (Tannen, 1999), which has to be overcome (Tannen, 2006, p. 616) both at the level of knowledge acquisition as well as at the level of ideas' exploration through the viewing of more than two oppositional poles of ideas. Fol- 103 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 lowing the same line of thinking, Tannen stands in favour of the examination of more than two sides of a topic and proposes the cultivation of alternative dialogic ways of "expressing opposition and negotiating disagreement" (ibid., p. 627). This critical stance towards debate imposes its further examination as pedagogical practice within the educational community. This need is underlined by the extended use of debate in social and political reality, beside the competitive debates (Edwards, 2008) that occur within the school and/or academic framework. More specifically, debate consists of a usual communication practice, which is largely exercised in a more or less formal form in various instances of the everyday professional, academic, social and political life for decision taking (e.g. in the courts, in scientific inquiries, in the administrative and political arena etc.) with significant influences not only to the sociopolitical life of smaller or larger social groups, but also to the political formation of states, which are governed by modern democratic principles where debate may influence even by taking the form of a referendum. Additionally, to the preoccupations, which have been expressed up to this point, it is worthwhile to share the concern of scholars who emphasize the importance of the audience (Perelman, 1982) in each rhetorical situation. Indeed, during the debating process an audience of students participates in it, both as a receiver of the produced messages and as a judge of the validity and soundness of the exchanged arguments. It is supported that the argumentation provided before an audience is not only limited nor characterized by its informative function, which is to communicate to the audience information on the examined topic. Mainly, the exchange of arguments before an audience reflects the power of changing the world (Tindale, 1990, p. 84), since it depends on the final decision of the audience concerning which action will be chosen and followed regarding various topics and practices (policy debates). Therefore, under the prism of critical pedagogy, we could support the idea that debate cultivates equally to the participants as well as to the audience, "the language of critique" and "the language of possibility" (Giroux, 1997, p. x). As it easily becomes clear, the cognitive dissonance, which stems from the afore-mentioned oppositional views, consists of the necessary ground on which we will attempt to carry out our theoretical research about the role of debate - and consequently of rhetorical paideia - to the intended intellectual, social, political emancipation of students, as future active citizens as well as about the debate's relation to critical pedagogy. As a result, interesting questions are derived from this oppositional approach of debate such as: 104 F. EGGLEZOU ■ DEBATE AT THE EDGE OF CRITICAL PEDAGOGY AND RHETORICAL PAIDEIA a) To what extent debate transforms pedagogical practice in political praxis (Giroux, 2004, p. 33) in the context of critical pedagogy? b) Which is the affinity between debate and the cultivation of critical citizenry? (Burke, 2013). c) What is the role of rhetorical paideia in general, and of debate in particular, within the modern educational context for the formation of active, responsible critical thinkers and democratic citizens? d) Last but not least: What is the role of educators in the students' familiarization with the pedagogical and didactic practice of debate? In this paper, we will attempt to answer the above questions. First, a short presentation, of dissoi logoi (the precursor of modern debate) will occur. Secondly, the main lines that define the theoretical framework of critical pedagogy within which debate is examined will be presented in order to form a final conclusion about the value of its use in educational practice. Rhetorical paideia and debate Since antiquity, within the context of rhetorical paideia, emphasis was given to the power of speech, as a means of developing the identity of active citizens. Practicing the art of speech was considered a valuable supply for every citizen, who was fueled by the deep desire to acquire knowledge of civic issues and to actively become involved to the shaping of their era civilization. Among others, knowing the art of speech could help an individual achieve personal and social fulfillment through the participation of the formation of apolis that could ensure the human values of arête and ofjustice. In other words, we could support the idea that the principal goal of classical rhetorical paideia was the actualization of critical pedagogy's current demand for forming students who will become active participants in social transformation and, at the same time, citizens fully aware of their developed political qualities (McLaren, 2010, p. 560). Also, for classical rhetorical paideia, it was commonly accepted that the purposeful use of language by the citizens ought to facilitate their actions concerning the defense of the polis. At the same time, it should not betray the necessity of an unstoppable critical doubting of these actions (Fontana et al., 2004). Easily, we recognize that such a form of education excluded the approaches of language teaching, which were based on the reproduction of mere knowledge. As a consequence, the invention of reasons and arguments ought to be contextual according to each rhetorical situation (Bitz-er, 1968). In other words, language ought to be adapted to the surround- 105 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 ing conditions (economic, political, social, cultural etc.) and to converse with them if the main aim of this civic discussion was the progress of the polis. The above conception of rhetorical paideia presents obvious similarities with critical pedagogy and, especially with the excoriation of the banking system of education, as presented by Paulo Freire, the leading exponent critical scholar in his book, The Pedagogy of the Oppressed (2000, p. 72). Both rhetoric and critical pedagogy, forcefully deny the idea that students may be parallelized to empty vessels, which have to be filled by their teacher who is keen to provide them with trivial knowledge (Shor, 1992, p. 32). In contrast to the above mechanistic and non-humanistic approach of education for rhetorical paideia, the instruction of individuals who are getting awareness of their civic identity presupposes, among others, practices-processes, such as: a) posing questions, b) forming judgments, and c) negotiating opposite interests. Through this creative and dialectic interaction, isegoria is guaranteed as the quality of freedom of speech for every participant in equal terms (Boniolo, 2012, p. 54). In antiquity, it was accepted that debate provided the fertile ground for the display of these processes. Debate, as official pedagogic practice, started with the Sophistic Movement of the 5th century B.C. and, in particular, with the dissoi logoi of Protagoras (D. L. 9.8.53). Dissoi logoi were placed in the center of rhetorical paideia shading it in tones of agonism (Ong, 2002, p. 108). Also, it was commonly accepted that dissoi logoi could contribute to the formation of individuals, capable of examining and managing effectively personal and civic issues due to the enhancement of their argumentative skills in logos and anti-logos, that is of their capacity to invent arguments for and against an issue. Moreover, in antiquity the practice of debate was revealing the sophistic view concerning the relativity of knowledge and the subjectivity of the so-called 'truth'. As a result, within dissoi logoi each thesis could be heard and, simultaneously, could be submitted to critical scrutiny developing tolerance towards the plurality of opinions (Mielczarski, s. a.) and towards otherness. Concluding, we could underline that debate was considered a deeply democratic practice that allowed the development of polyphony, the juxtaposition of arguments for a civic issue with arguments against the same issue. In this way, debate was conducting the audience, 106 F. EGGLEZOU ■ DEBATE AT THE EDGE OF CRITICAL PEDAGOGY AND RHETORICAL PAIDEIA first, to the formation of a multi-faceted approach of reality and, secondly, to the conscious choice of a decision and/or action that could effectuate the necessary changes on every debated issue. Also, debate as dissoi logoi transfused the rhetorical quality both to the teaching of argumentation and to civic education. In particular, dissoi logoi were considered to introduce the new model of citizen, who was becoming more powerful within the democratic context of his era, by drawing on the force of their arguments and not on aristocratic or elitist rights as it was usual up to that historical moment (Poulakos, 1995, p. 14). This is the reason why the educational program of Protagoras was characterized as "political and argumentative" at the same time, while argumentation was positively judged due to its "practical efficiency" (Marrou, 1956, p. 51). Probably, the positive impact of dissoi logoi to the ancient Greek audience was due to the acceptable agonistic model that was adopted in the era, since it was promoting the art of speech as "an art of response" (Hawhee, 2002, p. 185). For Protagoras, the correct decision-taking for each problematic situation that demanded a solution (eubolia), derived from the confrontation of at least two different subjective opinions about it and not of dogmatic truths. Another important goal for the Father of dissoi logoi was to conduct his students to the state of aporia in order to problematize them on various civic issues and to participate in the mental processes that were taking place during the critical confrontation of different views, as a necessary condition for acquiring civic virtue. What is more, Hawhee (2002, pp. 185-6) legalizes the agonistic character of dissoi logoi, while she directly relates to the development of civic virtue. She supports the idea that for ancient Greeks, agon was not identified with any forms of competition that aimed at the victory and the prize (vs. athlios) but with the field on which contrary opinions could be met for pedagogical and educational reasons as well. Also, she notices that the agonistic character of the exchange of arguments and counterarguments was related to the cultivation of students' civic virtue, not as a goal but as "a constant call to action" (ibid., p. 187). The virtue was exposed by the participants in public with courage before the opponents, the audience and the judges who were attending the process. In other words, the element of evolution, as opposed to the acceptance of a crystallized reality, was essential to the realization of an agon. This view could be interwoven with Freire's negation of Being, as the existence of a defined and fixed reality (and education) in favour of the acceptance of a constant Becoming life (Freire, 2000). The points that have been made so far, intended to clearly reveal the organic relationship between rhetorical paideia and debate as well as the 107 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 possible interconnections between rhetorical paideia and critical pedagogy. At the same time, the above theoretical references aim to reveal the contribution of rhetorical paideia and debate to the formation of active thinking citizens within the democratic context of ancient Athens, while they reveal a deep concern relative to the possibilities of an analogous modern pedagogical use of debate. Debate within the context of critical pedagogy However, a question that arises is whether debate might be implemented within the context of critical pedagogy. This question becomes even more challenging if we consider that the cultivation of students' civic identity consists of a main goal for both critical pedagogy and rhetorical paideia. Regarding critical pedagogy, the need for osmosis of education with various public spheres as the political, economic and cultural (Freire, 1989; Kincheloe, 2004; McLaren, 2007; Tsiami, 2013, p. 25) is considered imperative, firstly, for pointing out social inequities and injustices, and secondly, for conducting students in terms of praxis to the acquisition of active citizenship. The assurance of students' right to controversy, opposition and resistance (Crawford, 2010, pp. 817-8) through speech is considered as a necessary condition for the accomplishment of this goal. Since the notion of conflict plays a crucial role in the context of critical pedagogy (Buffington and Moneyhun, 1997, p. 4), it would be reasonable to accept the idea that debate could easily be inserted into it. This position is strengthened by the assumption that critical pedagogy reflects a dynamic opposition to the neo-liberal status quo intending to "deconstruct" the discourse of various modern forms of hegemony and domination (social, political, economic, educational etc.) by achieving the "social transformation" (Therianos, 2014, paragraph 2) within the context of a challenging debate with sociopolitical dimensions. As a consequence, we could accept the view that the practice of debate meets essential parameters of critical pedagogy. Among them we could include some important notions such as the following: a) dialogue, b) problem-posing education, c) codification and de-codification of information, d) conscientization and critical consciousness (Okazaki, 2005), and finally, e) praxis as definition of reflective action (Christiansen and Aldridge, 2013, pp. 7-9). 108 F. EGGLEZOU ■ DEBATE AT THE EDGE OF CRITICAL PEDAGOGY AND RHETORICAL PAIDEIA Introducing the point of dialogue, for Freire (1978, pp. 192-3), critical dialogue in the classroom as well as in society consists of an essential educational strategy for the students' liberation and emancipation. The exchange of thoughts and convictions concerning various social problems helps students to better comprehend these issues through their discursive interaction. At this point, we could support the idea that despite its regulatory framework, debate still consists of a sort of dialogic process. Independent the fact that debate takes the form of a formally organized dialogue, which is based on rules (e.g. defined number of participants, specific time for the exchange of arguments, number of questions etc.), it creates the necessary space for ensuring the equality of expression of each argumentative side within the context of mutual respect between the participants of the two teams. Through the dialogic form of debate participants may still use discourse in order to define or, more precisely, "name the world" (Freire, 2000, p. 18), to acquire extended and deeper knowledge of social issues that face in everyday life, to critically reconsider them and to become conscious of the possibility of social change that their action might bring. In other words, debate consists of the dialogic sharing of an experience which is based upon a circular process of: a) reasoning, b) expansion of the way of thinking, c) active listening, and d) discursive interaction, that potentially might lead to the transformation of practices relative to the examined social reality by ensuring the accordance of the audience. In other words, we accept the idea that debate consists of a praxis in which the power of transubstantiation of a pedagogical idea to a social practice within real life is hidden. Furthermore, debate may be inserted into the frame of "problem-posing education" (Freire, 1985, p. 22; Shor, 1992; Dewey, 1916). The exchange of arguments is fired by the examination of an ambivalent issue, which may be parallelized to Freire's "limit situations" (1997, p. 80), that come out within a specific historical and cultural context. Therefore, debate problematizes students on various topics that may seem familiar to them (that's the way things are) but in fact may not be. The deeper examination of such topics leads students to a re-familiarization with them. It is about the process that Ira Shor describes as "extraordinarily re-experiencing the ordinary" (1980, p. 93). For example, the topic of the debate may be related to: a) personal experiences of the students (e.g. The state provides all students with equal educational possibilities), 109 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 b) general social issues (e.g. The large inflo w of refugees causes the unemployment of a country's inhabitants), and c) scientific issues (e.g. DNA mapping must be forbidden). According to the Shor's taxonomy (1992), we could assign the following categories of topics to: a) generative issues which stem from everyday life, b) topical issues that derive from reality and c) academic issues relative to various sciences (ibid., pp. 55, 58, 73). Also, we could support the idea that through the exchange of arguments, all the members of the debating teams and the audience participate in the codification of the information that forms an enlarged picture of the examined topic. At the same time, independently of the position that each group supports, both the participants and the audience get involved with the de-codification of the new knowledge which has been acquired through the critical thinking and the identification with the provided argumentation (Ford, 2017, p. 3). Furthermore, the controversy among the participants and the mutual critical test of ideas contributes to a more efficient conscientization (Freire, 2005, p. 15) of important cultural ideas and socio-political practices through their intense impeachment. Within this context, participants are often called to argue against the convictions that compose their individual identity. At the same time, critical awareness is developed (Freire, 2005, p. 15) in association with the creation of reasonable and critical decisions, which may lead to social changes and to the formation of a new social, economic, political and cultural reality. Within this new context, individual actions may be redefined cultivating the rhetoric and the pedagogy of hope (Freire, 1998). Also, debating provides participants with the possibility of resistance through discourse to an imposed status quo and of refutation of stereotypes and dogmatic ways of thinking. Last but not least, participation in a debate may reveal the relationships of power and dominance, which are related to the argumentation process as interactive practice in the classroom, in a family, in a job, in politics as well as in every aspect of social life. Despite the common ground that seems to relate debate to critical pedagogy, its agonistic character might be considered as an obstacle to its use within the classroom. Following the same line as Theodor W. Adorno (1974), Colaguori (2012, p. vii) cauterizes the cultural rationalism of agon, as he directly correlates it to the problem of the universal domination of capitalism and to the imposition of 'truths', which reproduce so- 110 F. EGGLEZOU ■ DEBATE AT THE EDGE OF CRITICAL PEDAGOGY AND RHETORICAL PAIDEIA cial violence and injustice. He does not hesitate to compare agonism with a tool, which intends to impose dominant ideologies, to reiterate violence and the exclusion of various social groups and opinions and, finally, to reduce critical resistance to analogous socio-political pathogenicities (ibid., p. xii). Under this perspective, the argumentative skills of the participants are used in order to persuade and/or to mislead the audience just for the victory of the one team over the other, while the exchanged opinions are restricted to two poles. On the opposite side, for critical pedagogy, open dialogue is considered the most appropriate pedagogical tool for the resolution of problems, the deliberation of actions and the transformation of deeply rooted convictions due to its polyphonic essence. The confrontation, which is observed between dialogue and debate, as pedagogical practices, reflects the diachronic conflict between rhetoric and dialectic. In contrast to the superiority of dialectic, which aims to achieve cognitive truth, rhetoric sacrifices truth at the altar of persuasion (Honnman, 2000, p. 223). The conflict between the opposite opinions does not end at this point. On the contrary, the efficiency of dialogue, as pedagogical practice, is questioned (Ellsworth, 1989, p. 298) as well as the achievement of important communication goals. Under this point of view, it is highlighted that dialogue must be examined as a situated practice that is formatted by various parameters such as: who, when, where and how/under which conditions is conducted (Burbules, 2000, pp. 261-4). Respectively, the limitation of students' agonistic spirit is contested. Agonism though is considered an invaluable asset on facing the inflexible bureaucratic system with which they will have to deal in their future life. For example, Bizzell points out how it is important for students not to lose "the value of challenging, opposing and resisting the interplay of social, cultural and historical forces that structure our lives" (1992, p. 284). What has been mentioned up to this point reveals not only the confrontation between rhetoric and dialectic but that between debate and dialogue. The beginning of this conflict is situated in Plato's era and in his anti-rhetorical polemic as it is developed in his Gorgias, while it becomes obvious in Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed, where the author highlights once more that "this dialogical encounter cannot take place between antagonists" (2000, p. 129, note 5) who are exhibiting "oppressor characteristics" (ibid., p. 129). Indeed, rhetoric is condemned as a means of manipulation and production of empty speech that aims at the monologic persuasion and the oppression of recipients-objects. In this case, through 111 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 propaganda, a dominant subject succeeds the so-called "cultural invasion" (Freire, 1974, p. 86) and the social injustice. On the other hand, more moderate opinions support that the relationship between rhetoric and dialectic is complementary. In particular, Honnmann (2000), based on Aristotle, supports the idea that there is a "rhetorical foundation of dialectical reasoning in the audience's acceptance of its premises, and of the dialectical justification of rhetoric by the corrective interplay of opposing viewpoints" (ibid., p. 233). Adopting the same stance, we will attempt to reveal why we believe that debate is useful to be implemented among other dialogic practices in the context of critical pedagogy, for the formation of future active citizens. Our position consists of an attempt to relate the agonistic examination of reality with a conscious and cooperative decision-taking about it. Debate and cultivation of active citizenry The formation of active citizens is an educational need and priority. As such, it is related to the cultivation of individuals, who voluntarily and independently of the possession of positions of power, in the future, will assume roles and responsibilities for the co-formation of the sociopolitical, cultural and environmental reality in terms ofjustice, equity and freedom. The speech development and the exchange of arguments regarding the view and the vision of the world through collaborative forms of deliberation, consists of a necessary prerequisite for the manifestation of desirable actions in public sphere. To achieve this goal as educators, we support the idea that we should equally encourage students' participation in co-operative and agonistic forms of argumentation as well, in an attempt to form citizens who are not limited to a shallow and narrow imposition of ideas. On the other hand, we should promote the formation of students who struggle for the agonistic examination of emerged sociopolitical issues and who strive to ensure the "dialectic of control" (Giddens, 1979, p. 149) and the critique of domination through the analysis and rebuttal of the "discourse of power" (ibid., p. 92), when it is activated for legalizing the partial interests of the hegemonic groups (ibid., p. 187). The basic principles of Hannah Arendt's political philosophy will become the main argumentative source for supporting our thesis. The German-American philosopher seems to embrace rhetorical paideia and to reconcile deliberation with agonism for achieving a major, diachron-ic political goal: the avoidance or even the extinction of totalitarianism (Roberts-Miller, 2002, p. 598). For Arendt, the formation of active citizens' political conscience is a difficult attempt since important challenges arise. We could refer to the 112 F. EGGLEZOU ■ DEBATE AT THE EDGE OF CRITICAL PEDAGOGY AND RHETORICAL PAIDEIA persistent attachment to the subjective 'ego' that limits and thwarts the involvement to a commonly delimited action, to the reluctance of many individuals to undertake responsibilities for public issues or to their assimilation into the existing systemic power. As a consequence of all of the above, passivity, compliance and indifference towards the formation of reality arise. All these stances, when they become strengthened more or less consciously might support totalitarian forms of power, since the individuals who adopt these stances refuse to actively participate and assume responsibilities - both at a level of speech and action - for the formation of the sociopolitical and cultural context. In particular, because of the Holocaust, Hannah Arendt (1978, p. 4) scathes the unexamined facility with which hundreds of people without anti-Semitic tendencies worked for the genocide of Jews within the context of their bureaucratic duty in order to avoid points of conflict with their superiors. Also, she remarks the danger of exclusion of "spontaneous action or outstanding achievement" (Arendt, 1958, p. 40). Such a peril is generated by the legalization of numerous rules and by the negative political power of assimilation, which often stems from the rigid attachment to bureaucratic rules and/or by the assimilation of the citizens' councils and the loss of dynamics for action (Arendt, 1958, p. 219). In these cases, Hannah Arendt, by paying the price of the critique that emphasizes an internal contradiction to the core of her political theory (Villa, 1996, p. 56), seems to accept the agonistic or even polemical spirit which is hidden under a controversy. She supports the idea that controversy ensures the necessary space of action and speech as prerequisites for the involvement in political life and to the fight of each form of totalitarianism, despite the possible dangers that may be hidden in the process of debating (Lederman, 2014, p. 329). Opposite to the idea that debate might stem from personal ambitions or that it might represent elite teams, Arendt expresses her acceptance of the speakers who because of their "passion for ideas and politics [...] [are] willing to take risks" (Roberts-Miller, 2002, p. 589) for supporting their personal action through their speech and for expressing overtly to the public sphere their ideas through the use of sound arguments. As a defender of the truth, Arendt emphasizes the use of factual arguments (ibid., p. 594), while she highlights the role of values that have to permeate controversy as, for example, "the spirit of fighting without hatred and 'without the spirit of revenge" in combination with "indifference to the material advantages" (Arendt, 1972, p. 167). Under this perspective, rhetoric, in the context of a debate, might effectively serve the development of action in the public sphere. Also, controversy might become a protective shield against totalitarian ideas due to the 113 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 courage of a person who will raise their voice in order to be heard by the hegemonic system. Conclusions To conclude, debate consists of a multi-dynamic pedagogical practice. It seems that within the process of the argumentative exchange of ideas itself, huge amounts of energy are stored, capable either to reproduce or to deconstruct relations of power that are appearing in the public socio-political sphere. Under this perspective we could accept the idea that debate, as the hard core of rhetorical paideia has not only the character of an "intellectual game" (jeu d'esprit) (Huizinga, 1949, p. 51). Simultaneously, it consists of a political praxis, which may be implemented within critical pedagogy and political education, in general, since it provides students with the possibility to get out of the classroom due to the force of their speech and to be conducted, as citizens, to active action for the formation of a different and desirable reality. In other words, we support the idea of a direct relationship between debate and critical citizenry that contributes to the formation of citizens who - among others - have the capacity to evaluate reasons for and against various alternative practices regarding issues, which demand public deliberation and reasonable decisions (Siegel, 2010, p. 9). As a consequence, the awareness of the power of debate in the political education of young students leads us to the conclusion that the educational community should be extremely attentive with regards to the terms of involvement in it, either as educators who use it as a pedagogical tool, or as students who participate in the process of assuming the role of the speaker or the audience. Also, it is important to notice that involvement in a debate does not equate to the correct language use during its process. It consists of a life stance. It presupposes the comprehension that debate is not the only form of exchanging arguments within the context of deliberative community fora. It is important for students to realize that there may be more than two sides with regards to the dialogic examination of a topic. In other words, debate must not be equated to the students' perception of argumentation as eristic. Its consideration must not be limited to the invention of the appropriate arguments independent of ethical parameters and rules of reason for the accomplishment of power, fame and authority. During their participation in a debate, students are not opponents, but co-operators to the agonistic examination of the reality that they share through their experiences. Also, we support the idea that participation in a debate presupposes the prior familiarization of students and educators with a whole argumentative culture in the context of dia- 114 F. EGGLEZOU ■ DEBATE AT THE EDGE OF CRITICAL PEDAGOGY AND RHETORICAL PAIDEIA logic discussions, inquiries, fora etc., where respect and acceptance of opposing views are developed. Also, engagement in debate presupposes the teaching of essential elements of argumentation theory, regarding the production of sound arguments, as well as students' familiarization with the evaluative standards of valid arguments. Furthermore, the invention and use of arguments should express students' authentic voices and not trivial ideas, which are transferred or imposed by the teacher-expert in the context of the teaching process. Finally, we would not be exaggerating by stating that engagement in debate presupposes the existence of an unwritten contract due to which the participants will be committed to the use of reasoning and linguistic skills in terms of ethos, logos and pathos intended for the continuous improvement of themselves and of the world. Finally, we would support the idea that such an acceptance is not contrary to basic theoretical principles of critical pedagogy. Freire highlights the negative implications of a dialogue, which is reduced to "a simple exchange of ideas to be 'consumed' by the discussants" (Freire, 2000, p. 89). Also, in The Pedagogy of Hope, he recalls the image of a man, who before a big auditorium supported his opinion "... speaking in a loud, clear voice, sure of himself, speaking his lucid speech" (Freire, 1998, p. 18), by drawing on the strength of his rhetoric. In other words, Freire seems to incorporate a latent power to rhetoric as Plato did the same in his Phaedrus, when "it is harnessed to an idealistic aim and emancipatory ethic that follows on the heels of dialogical [...] inquiry into the nature of the soul" (Crick, 2016, p. 217). Debate as a central aspect of rhetoric provides the necessary space for the formation of responsible rhetorical and political people. 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Villa, D.R. (1996) Arendt and Heidegger. The Fate of the Political. New Jersey: Princeton University Press. DOI: https://www.doi.org/io.3232o/i58i-6o443o(5-6)ioi-ii9 119 A Road to Rhetorica: Teaching Rhetoric as Social Sensitivity and Behaviour Petra Aczel In the preface to his ground-breaking volume on rhetorical criticism Edwin Black stimulates and disturbs the rhetoric-tuned reader with the assumption that no books seem to inspire a deathlike hush so dependably as those on the subject of rhetoric. Aristotle's Rhetoric, for the supreme example, instead of initiating the vigorous discussion and exploration of the subject [...] was followed [...] by two millennia of feeble echoes [...], finally moving Welldon in the nineteenth century to remark the Rhetoric as a 'solitary instance of a book which not only begins a science but completes it.' (Black, 1978, p. xvii). Black - as a scholar of criticism - urged to retrieve rhetoric from this spiral of silence by wanting variety in the methods of rhetoric and a deeper, wider understanding of rhetorical discourses. How far have we come since the middle of the last century with our efforts to give rhetoric the voice it deserves? The answer to this cannot be that straightforward and clear. By the end of the 20th century, rhetoric -through recurring fatal phases and revivals - has seemingly been reduced to a rather derogatory term. In general and popular understanding, rhetoric is still about the manipulative use of language to coerce people into believing and doing what they would otherwise not believe or do. It is the practice of stirring emotions and anger with no essential rational input, it is the destituous verbalism and declamation that exploits an unnatural mode of communication. Rhetoric is the opposite of action in everyday language use: it rather misleads or entertains where one has to think, 121 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXVIII, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 consider, act, especially when it comes to social and public life. Practically, the intellectual goal is to set it aside, or go beyond all that is rhetoric. There are several reasons offered for this decline by George Kennedy (1980) or Bender and Wellbery (1990). Explanations blame either the lack or - surprisingly - the expansion of democracy and the ways modern scientific thought and methods have over dominated human and political life (Crosswhite, 2013). Interestingly, despite modern academic distaste in or ignorance towards what rhetoric has to offer, the last century has not passed without pivotal periods in its theorizing. We may arrange these changes under the label of "rhetorical turn" (Simons, 1990), a movement in human sciences motivated by the rediscovery of rhetorical argumentation and the reaction against objectivist quests for certainty in the scientific method, that is, academic positivism. "Rhetoric" - James Boyd White assumed later, in 1985 - "in the highly expanded sense in which I speak of it, might indeed become the central discipline for which we have been looking for so long [...]" (White, 1985, p. 701). This turn offered a view to better see the overarching constitutive nature of rhetoric. Marking this significant turn, two seminal works were published in the same year of 1958. One was Traité de l'argumentation - la nouvelle rhétorique (The New Rhetoric) by Chaïm Perelman and Lucie Olbre-chts-Tyteca, the other was Stephen E. Toulmin's The Uses of Argument. Both center around the rhetorical argument as a social, practical tool and a meeting of minds, and they both contribute to the birth of the 'new rhetoric project' (Crosswhite, 2010). Nevertheless, it is Perelman and Olbre-chts-Tyteca's New Rhetoric that explicitly revives rhetoric via the discussion of social argumentation. They did rediscover rhetoric's millennia-long history of concern with reasoning about practical matters in conditions of uncertainty. Their radical rhetorical move with the valorization of the audience proved to be a fundamental shift from pure logic to social-psychological settings. As they stated: all argumentation develops in relation to an audience (Perelman and Olbrechts-Tyteca, 1969, p. 5). These approaches were followed by the wave of „big rhetoric"1 that have opened up a new horizon for rhetoric in the new millennium (Aczél, 2019a). Michael Billig stated two decades ago that although the study of rhetoric had always had to fight for its academic credibility, today it is "creeping back into theoretical fashion" (Billig, 1987, pp. 33-34). At the same time, in Central Europe, time seems to stand still as the study of 1 As Edward Schiappa (2001, p. 260) put it with big rhetoric we refer to the theoretical position that everything, or virtually everything, can be described as rhetorical." 122 P. ACZEL ■ A ROAD TO RHETORICA: TEACHING RHETORIC AS SOCIAL SENSITIVITY .. rhetoric here still counts as a surprising or at least academically marginal endeavour. Almost thirty years after the rebirth of free Hungarian public life, the term "rhetoric" is still provoking mixed feelings in the country but also in other Central European countries like Croatia, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia or the Czech Republic - at least that's what scholars and teachers dealing with rhetoric often say and share with each other. While at international conferences they recognize common problems and attitudes stemming from the same, mainly historical-cultural root, they also often complain about the lack of incentives to presently study rhetoric and pursue research in the field. Representatives of contemporary academic life have even more arguments when it comes to the hardly or even "un-academic" nature of rhetoric. Among these they often quote its speculative nature in contrast with the required and expected statistical accuracy of contemporary sciences or its outdated terminology that seems overly self-explanatory without updates from modern scientific jargon. The rebirth of rhetoric in Hungary more than a quarter of a century ago was primarily caused by the growing need to teach the subject as it was included in the basic level syllabus for university training programs in 1991 and later also in the national curriculum. The situation was rendered more difficult in the 90s by the lack of prepared professionals who could teach the subject; the available teachers could only teach rhetoric from a structuralist-stylistic angle as a reinforcement of discourse and style analysis. The integration of reasoning and persuasion into teacher training is still a highly challenging task. As rhetoric cannot be clearly positioned within disciplinary boundaries, we have come to identify it with normative subfields of linguistics such as orthography, the culture of language and proper articulation, which clearly strips the faculty of its original significance as the science of public life Rhetoric considered almost exclusively as a part of linguistics manifests an approach that denies the overwhelmingly visual, - even sensual (Whitson and Poulakos, 1993; Hawhee, 2004; Aczel, 2019a) - social and cultural characteristics of the ancient study. Therefore, the haunting need for the constant rediscovery of rhetoric as the complex creative study of social behaviour remains to be fulfilled. The present paper offers a broad 'road to rhetorica', a way to dissolve silence around and within rhetoric and, most importantly, an ancient-new stand to teach it in schools. Education and rhetoric in Hungarian context According to the currently effective National Core Curriculum of Hungary (2012, presently under revision), the content elements of rhetoric defined for grades 9 to 12 (ages between 16-18 years) are related to text anal- 123 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXX, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 ysis, style and argumentation. Key content elements include the structural units and genres of speech and types of arguments — students should be able to identify as well as apply these elements. The approach this curriculum apparently takes to rhetoric is primarily static and not dynamic: it is concerned with producing texts. In speech preparation, emphasis tends to be on construction and expression rather than on argumentation — students often fail to learn and confidently use the latter (Major, 2011). This result-oriented approach (the goal being the creation of a text) leads to teachers and students interpreting rhetoric as a product instead of as an activity, associating it only with certain verbal (oral and written) genres, tools and effects of communication. This insistence on completed texts weakens the perception of rhetoric as an intelligent process utilising attention, invention, situation-awareness and flexibility. Rhetoric education in Hungary today seems to reflect the process of the general reduction that started with Petrus Ramus in the sixteenth century (Genette, 1977), and first bereaved rhetoric of invention and arrangement (the very steps that enhance cognitive and critical skills), narrowing its leeway predominantly to the linguistic aesthetic repository of elocution. It also condemned the effect of expression as dubious and dangerous, ultimately identifying rhetoric as "ancient stylistics" (Guiraud, 1963, p. 23), or a toolkit of linguistic operations (Dubois et al., 1970). The emergence of an artifact- and operation-centred education with a structuralist, belletristic, neo-rhetorical basis has been thus necessary but ineffectual. To put it more sharply, it did not prove to be an indispensable, durable and likeable practice for either the teacher or the student of today. In what follows, I shall discuss a different understanding of rhetoric and the applicable principles and methods that can serve it (Aczél, 2016). Rhetoric as a social science Rhetoric is the most socially-oriented aspect of human communication and its study. It is concerned with the methods by which human interactions help people reach common agreements which later allow societies to make common efforts and perform deeds while forming a functioning community. Rhetoric is concerned with the coordination of social activities using verbal symbols, visual signs and bodily movements (Hauser, 2002, pp. 7-13). As an action, it is characterised by seven factors which also provide the conceptual framework for the theory of rhetoric. Rhetoric is: - situational action, 124 P. ACZEL ■ A ROAD TO RHETORICA: TEACHING RHETORIC AS SOCIAL SENSITIVITY .. - symbolic action, - interaction, - social action, - strategic action, - creative action, - ritual and dialogical action. Based on these factors, the most important characteristics of rhetoric are situational connectedness, mutuality, creativity and strategicality. In other words: rhetoric is not abstract but factual, not monologic but dialogic; it is not merely a mimicry of forms but a creative activity. It is embedded in the social-communal situation to which it can serve as a change agent. According to Lloyd Bitzer (1980, pp. 21-38) the starting point of any rhetorical statement is the given social situation. In such a way, the central concept of rhetorical communication is the actual context along with concrete human relationships and needs: practical wisdom (phronesis). We must, however, presuppose the following criteria: 1) people harmonize their needs and wants with the inner mental and the outer physical world; 2) if another party enters the interaction, a symbolic, communicative and rhetorical aspect, need, want or problem also emerges; 3) the interaction is aimed at recognising, resolving and satisfying this need and pairing it with another social need. Rhetoric is a social activity as its goal is to enter into contact with at least one other individual and to create and reproduce a social reality. "In other words, people cooperate with each other in social activities aimed at creating compatible interpretations of their situations" (Hauser, 2002, p. 10): thus, rhetoric is the tool and phenomenon of desired cooperation in a given situation. The method of communication used by rhetoric is oriented towards the new but not primarily through being informative: it is characterised more by the ability to reinforce commonplaces (common knowledge) and by the dialogical and creative practice of invoking new points of view. Its ritual always starts by creating a common, new psychological space through grabbing the other party's attention. Then - building on this new, unfamiliar type of attention - it accentuates already known information employing the contrast of harmonisation and unexpected twists. The seemingly unique content and the universal nature of the structure together create the forces that drive the social-rhetorical ritual. 125 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXX, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 Rhetoric as the creative study of (strategic) social behaviour Here we conceive of rhetoric not as a static repository of creating persuasive - often identified as manipulative and thus suspicious - text-products but as an instance of social intelligence: sensitivity (Hart and Burks 1972, 1975) and behaviour (Aczél, 2015). It can provide the individual with the skills of adapting to a community and the abilities of self-actualization and empathy towards others. Hence, it includes the ethical and cognitive skills or know-how (Struever, 1998; Booth, 2003) necessary to interpret and influence social situations. The environment for rhetorical sensitivity is created by human relations and social situations that have affective as well as cognitive components (Aczél, 2016). Rhetorical sensitivity is a character of interpersonal communication that "best promises to facilitate human understanding and to effect social cohesion" as Hart and Burks (1972, p. 75) contended. They describe the rhetorically sensitive person as an individual who willingly characterizes himself or herself as "an undulating, fluctuating entity, always unsure, always guessing, continually weighing [potential communicative decisions]" (Hart and Burks, 1972, p. 91). They conceive of rhetorical sensitivity as an attitude towards encoding that has five constituents: (1) the acceptance of human complexity as a necessary and desirable condition, (2) the avoidance of communicative rigidity, (3) the consciousness of both the speaker's position and the constraints of the other within the interaction,^) the ability to distinguish and decide upon the communicability of different ideas, and (5) the openness towards alternatives in making an idea clear (Hart, Eadie, Carlson, J975, pp. 3-5). According to the Hart et al. (1980, p. 9) summary, "rhetorical sensitivity is a function of three forces: how one views the self during communication, how one views the other, and how willing one is to adapt oneself to the other." Hence, this sensitivity entails attention (observation), reflection and sensitivity to norms and deviations: to whatever is unique, different, disparate or identical. Rhetorical behaviour is a feature of participative, articulate, resourceful, emphatic and active citizens who, while they strive to realize their interests, are also social beings capable of defining their own goals in accordance with the enhancement of collective values. This behaviour is indispensable in the processes, debates and cooperation that creatively nurture co-existence, foster socialization and ensure cultural continuity. The lack of rhetorical behaviour may also be reflected in a specific era by an individual's lack of self-esteem and the sense of being "superfluous," of public gloom, and collective distrust. Therefore, learning rhetorical per- 126 P. ACZEL ■ A ROAD TO RHETORICA: TEACHING RHETORIC AS SOCIAL SENSITIVITY .. suasion has a much more profound significance and role than merely serving momentary individual success. In light of the above, we can conceive rhetoric as an intelligence, a kind of sensitivity and a behaviour that enables us to face and manage, in a communicative way, complex social situations. The foundation, source, and medium of rhetorical intelligence are all created in human relations and social situations, in both rational and emotional terms (Darwin, 2003, p. 23). In sum, rhetoric can also be called a practical sensitivity which is rooted in a given social situation and turns that into a fundamentally social world (Burke, 1969, p. 39; Laclau, 2014, p. 438). For a long time self-assurance (assertiveness) has been identified as basic in rhetorical communication. It is time to replace this concept and related interpretations with the idea of the communicator with confidence in self and others: a critically thinking, community-minded and participative person who bears themself, articulates their standpoint and eagerly shares the common space of communication with others, a person who is self-aware and other-assured. Accordingly, the result of rhetorical practice and education will be the social personality itself rather than the "fine speech" following structuralist/belletristic principles. It will be the engaged, articulate, resourceful and compassionate person who considers communication as a mode of social existence rather than a tool (Fleming, 1998, pp. 172-73). This individual is a subject who is also a collective creature; thus, the output of their rhetorical intelligence is never self-actualization only, but a responsible existence within the community. A criterion for all this is that we conceive of rhetoric as a form of behaviour rather than a tool. Therefore, the education of a rhetorical citizen requires an educational method and vocabulary that help students (and their teachers) identify, interpret, analyze and utilize their own rhetorical experiences, events, and situations (Aczel, 2016). Teaching a 'rhetorical citizen' Ancient and contemporary rhetoricians seem to agree (cf. Lanham, 1976, pp. 2-3) that rhetorical citizens and their behaviour should meet the following expectations. They should - start to learn persuasive speech early, - be good observers of the world, - be interested in public life and grasp the facets of an issue or affair that may concern more people, others, 127 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXX, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 - love the word: enjoy the potentials offered by language and learn to "translate" one style into another, like verbal play, and recognize whenever someone tries to use them as a means of deception, - learn to seize the moment, develop their abilities to improvise, - stretch their memory to develop their understanding, - recognize that their behaviour is a social 'performance', - familiarize themselves with the phrases, proverbs, wisdoms and emblems of their culture, - enjoy the intellectual community of more intelligent people. As the Hungarian speech-therapist Imre Montágh (1996, p. 125) briefly summarized, "The good rhetor is an excellent observer with an advanced ability to grasp the gist, good at inferring, skilled in memorizing, quick to associate and capable to express in a concise and vivid way that which is comprehensible for all." In addition, Montágh emphasized the mastery of language use and rich vocabulary (based on literary erudition), the power of commitment that makes us authentic and uninhibited, control for ourselves and compassion for others. In view of all of this, a student should be facilitated to attune themselves to the creation or change of rhetorical situation with the following principles: - Empathy: using the presumed audience as a starting point instead of oneself; - Motivation: discovering the opportunities for evoking inspiration and interest in the chosen topic; - Inventiveness: being unique and personal without offending anyone's feelings or taste; - Ethics: being all about - and responsible for - the community without losing one's personal voice; - Discipline: being creative in finding what but self-controlled in choosing how to communicate; - Consistency: accepting that the arrangement can be persuasive in itself, be consistent; - Originality: avoiding borrowed worn-out common phrases and speaking in one's personal language. These factors can reinforce that the goals of education and development formulated within the core curriculum presuppose rhetorical knowledge as an organic element. Based on the above, the fundamental keys and principles of (teaching) rhetorical sensitivity in teacher training programmes can be listed as follows: 128 P. ACZEL ■ A ROAD TO RHETORICA: TEACHING RHETORIC AS SOCIAL SENSITIVITY .. 1. Rhetoric is an inseparable element of human self-expression and communication: it is an integral part of all human interactions. 2. Rhetoric is the communicative element of social existence; it is not only a method of persuasion but also a method of listening and understanding. 3. Rhetoric is more than simply an element of the linguistic code, it is not only one part of education concerning a given native language. It might be interpreted as a complex, comprehensive competency, communal literacy or social intelligence that, as such, exhibits biological, psychological, sociological, anthropological and technological characteristics. 4. We approach rhetoric the right way if we see it as an ethical-cognitive ability instead of simply as a system of methods and tools to help us create texts. This ability and sensitivity is important in helping individuals to an understanding of undecided human-social situations, to the creation of refined actions and discursive strategies that in turn motivate other individuals. As such, rhetoric should be a part of every educational subject and cultural area. 5. The foundation, source and medium of rhetorical intelligence are provided by human relationships and social situations not only in a rational but also in an emotional sense. 6. The goal of rhetoric is to educate empathetic, articulate, inventive, participating and sensitive citizens. This person is an individual with a personality and also a social creature whose rhetorical intelligence is never concerned solely with self-propagation but with community life and the enrichment of common values. This requires that we consider rhetoric as a behaviour instead of an instrument. 7. Rhetoric is not the inventory of creating texts but the complex system of abilities and skills made up of attention, empathy, imagination and emulation, the expression of emotions and understanding. Therefore, rhetoric education could be structured as follows: - grasping rhetorical intelligence, improving communicational attention and rhetorical sensitivity; - the communicative description and exploration of the situation while assessing its cultural references; - the dynamic of the situation's elements and functions; - invention: creating the situationally sensitive message (questions, tropes, reasons); - genre-awareness: choosing the audience, code, format, display and channel of the message consciously; 129 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXX, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 - the pragmatics of the rhetorical message: intentionality and structuring; - the variance of the message: translation from situation to situation, from code to code; - the analysis of the effect. 8. Communication built on rhetorical intelligence is vital to the debates and co-operations that creatively nurture communities. It is also fundamental to a type of coexistence that supports socialisation, to a type of understanding that ensures the continuity of culture and the processes of remembering and renewal. (Aczel, 2015) Three phases of teaching rhetoric One of the main challenges of teaching rhetoric as the creative study of (strategic) social behaviour is whether we can reconfigure the educational program so that it could assume the process-approach rather than remain focused on the product or procedure. In other words, we are to decide if we can accept that the communicative-pragmatic sensitivity and behaviour which manifest itself in speaking constitute a much better measure of rhetorical proficiency than individual speech artifacts. If we do, then invention has to be reclaimed for rhetoric from Petrus Ramus, and rhetoric education should be started with the development of critical thinking and rhetorical analysis. Only then can we create and shape the rhetorical space attached to context and situation, to be followed by the instruction and practice of debate as a form of behaviour in dialog-ical communication. These three phases can also be grasped through the conceptual triad of (1) analysis, (2) creation and (3) encounter. In this way, first, we teach students open, exploratory inquiry, systematic analysis, and the bold formulation of statements; second, the creative-productive processes of articulation, expression and speaking; and third, we develop the skills required to participate in encounters that emerge in conflicts and disagreements, which can induce changes. Critical thinking and analysis The aim of the first phase of the process is to clarify the nature of issues, topics and stances, and to develop critical thinking (Bowell and Kemp, 2002) and analysis. The analytical method used in encouraging critical thinking is critical rhetoric, which is also an important procedure in research-centred education. The basic principle of this method is seeing humans as the creators of rhetoric, language as the medium for rhetoric and communication as the purpose of rhetoric respectively (Black, 1978; Foss, 130 P. ACZEL ■ A ROAD TO RHETORICA: TEACHING RHETORIC AS SOCIAL SENSITIVITY .. 2009). Reasonably, rhetorical analysis can be applied to advertisement reels, video narratives at community sharing sites and comments to online contents or interviews, news and scientific lectures as well as typical public speeches (tributes, ceremonial speeches, parliamentary contributions, or political campaigns). The procedure of rhetorical analysis can be applied to (1) exploring the meaning and functions of the situation and speech acts, (2) examining the issue, topic or idea, (3) analysing the modes of reasoning and proofs, (4) studying the structure of the communication, (5) discussing the elements of expressivity, (6) analysing the mode of performance and (7) examining the medium (Aczel, 2016). The process of rhetorical criticism begins with description, continues with analysis, is summarized through interpretation and ends in evaluation. In each of these study areas, it is essential to raise questions precisely and openly, and to reveal one's own personal relations (Hart and Daughton, 2005, Stoner and Perkins, 2016). Rhetorical analysis is also a rhetorical act, a specific explorative-assertive and an argumentative way of writing. The constant elements of critical analysis are (a) setting the problem, (b) formulating the basic question, (c) describing the selected rhetorical act and artifact, (d) presenting the method and aspects of analysis, (e) summarizing the results of analysis, answering the basic question and (f) indicating the further challenges of analysis (Foss, 2009, pp. 9-21). Rhetorical criticism as the facilitator of analytical skills is complemented by the acquisition of rhetorical invention as a process. In the present conception of teaching rhetoric, argumentation is considered not a part of text construction or expression, but an element of attention and a way of thinking whose nature is defined by the dynamics of raising questions and making claims. This view is based on the distinction that argumentation can be interpreted as the construction of arguments, as a product; a rule of constructing arguments, as a procedure; or the counterposition of arguments, as a process (Wenzel, 1992). Depending on the aspect assumed in its description, argumentation can have several definitions. On the one hand, when we think of arguments as a set of statements, argumentation can be considered an outcome or product. This approach may be attributed primarily to logic, since it studies the abstract relations between specific statements. On the other hand, if argumentation is described from its practical point of view, then we can see a process where participants pose arguments for their own or against each other's stances. This method is applied in the approach assumed by rhetoric and dialectic. Rhetoric explores how effective the orator is in persuading his audience through his speech. In contrast, di- 131 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXX, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 alectic examines the interaction of two participants in the argumentation. Throughout the analysis, it focuses on how the debating parties exchange specific arguments, and whether they comply with the rules predetermined by the given situation. (Forgacs, 2015, p. 1094) Hence, the argument as a result is described by logic, as a procedure by dialectic and as a process, by rhetoric, respectively. Again, that is why the process-centred approach should replace the product-centred one in rhetoric education. One of the possible modes of process-like argumentation (i.e., the one preparing for interaction) can be grasped through the following ten steps: 1. Recognize or select the phenomenon or problem/challenge. 2. Survey the audience. 3. Raise questions. 4. Articulate the topic statement. 5. Examine topic statements, based on whether they are evaluative or proposing claims. 6. Explore the potential refutations of and alternatives to topic statements, and examine the degree of disputability. 7. Define concepts related to the statement, but note that differing opinions may involve conceptual differences. 8. Articulate the stance related to the statement, based on its function as an evaluation or a recommendation. 9. Create the logical framework, a system of arguments for the given stance: gather, sort, and arrange arguments and reasons (using statistical data, laws, rules, stories, beliefs, and topoi). 10. Review the logical framework in terms of the conceptual system and logical-rhetorical relationships. (Aczel, 2017) When finishing these ten steps, students have not yet completed text artifacts either on paper or in their minds. Instead, they can see their own mental maps, the organism of thinking, drafted in the form of claims, relations, concepts and questions. Creativity and speaking up The second phase of education for rhetorical behaviour consists of speaking as a creative act. In the culture of digital "new media," a number of alternatives to school-based education are available. Hundreds of thousands of people enjoy scientific courses, short and flash talks, and several weeks long online courses by renowned training institutions, which all 132 P. ACZEL ■ A ROAD TO RHETORICA: TEACHING RHETORIC AS SOCIAL SENSITIVITY .. serve as information sources generated through sharing knowledge and experience. These alternative sites combine experiential knowledge acquisition with the characteristics of rhetorical behaviour: resourcefulness, vivid description, simplicity, the use of narratives, palpability, and contrasts. For example, the scientific and informative talks of TED.com are always based on some problem that concerns many people, a particular point of view, insightful descriptions, precise differentiation, disciplined content-filtering, time management and the aim to mobilize (make people think and raise awareness). That is why they seem more comprehensible and colourful, and leave a deeper impression on their audience than school classes do. Speakers who consider the addressee a subject-like, thinking human being similar to themselves, not as an object, possess the properties of modesty, high-level presence in the situation, attention and self-reflection. In such a way, speaking uses genre as a recurrent unit of typical encounters and experiences, and infers it from the mental preparation conducted in the first phase. The dichotomy of evaluation and recommendation gives rise to the classical triad of speech genres: one that evaluates, considers, confirms and judges; the other that recommends, initiates, discourages or encourages; and the third that induces empathy, engages, identifies or alienates. Actually, these three speech genres (fact, action, value, Heinrichs, 2007) are three modes or linguistic-pragmatic-aesthetic categories of rhetorical behaviour and encounter. The instruction of structuring principles for speaking is suited to the social situation, goals and the intended effect to be generated in and in cooperation with the addressee. It depends on the imaginability of collective discovery and the potential processes of an attitudinal change. In this sense, parts of the speech are not content-related but, for both the communicator and the addressee, stimulating units that draw and maintain attention, engage the audience (introduction, narrative), enable emotional attachment (digression), encourage causal and analytical thinking (proof and refutation), demand participation (enthymeme), generate the joy of structure (conclusion), foster imagination (tropes), record what has been heard (figures of speech) and elevate the situation to an event. The good speech is a building where you can easily find your way around, which makes you feel at home and can be visited from time to time - because it is based on the holistic logic of oral cultures (Ong, 1982). Hence, rhetorical communication also makes use of visual-spatial intelligence (Gardner, 1983). 133 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXX, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 Then, at the second phase, the cognitive framework created in the critical preparation should be embedded into the dynamic and interactive process of communication, of speaking up. Connecting and debating The third phase in rhetoric education is teaching debate as an encounter. In accordance with the suggestion by Ankersmit (2003, p. 20), disagreement is a creative source for all human relations and communication. There can be a strong sense of security in a relationship or community where parties are governed by identical opinions or the fear of debate, but their ability to change is bound to be weak. Although they may seem to be ideal, debate-free relations and societies are more vulnerable and exposed than communities that are ready for debate. Debate generates knowledge, shapes experience, facilitates inquiring, critical thinking and attention techniques, and may foster a participatory culture of engagement. It is a communication genre which allows the parties to match, counterpose, and (in the agreement phase) reconcile their stances in order to reach a decision. Indeed, a debate is a conflict by nature, but as such it shall not be necessarily threatening, coercive or destructive. Disagreement, thus, in debate is not impoliteness or harshness, but an opportunity to seek new perspectives — it is the most efficient way of making decisions. In this way, debate can be considered an intellectual struggle that has a stake but enables preparation through an all-round approach, allows us to prepare thoughtfully, gaining experience in argumentation and having a responsible attitude towards the other. The parties to a debate represent disparate stances. Therefore, on the one hand, both parties are forced — by the very presence of the other — to scrutinize their own stances in order to filter out inconsistencies. So, they encourage each other to behave in a self-controlled and attentive way. On the other hand, a debate between these parties does not mean that they disagree. Accepting the other's point may also lead to the extension of our own beliefs, without giving up our conviction. Thus, debaters are not petty squabblers, but observant, restrained and responsible communicators. A decision made during the debate usually derives from the community which provides the context for the debate. Consideration in good decision-making is based on the effectiveness of the parties in exploring and analysing the subject matter, in reasoning and recounting proofs, in constructing their argument and in refuting the points proposed by the other party. There are several models for debating competitions which are fruitfully applicable in secondary school classroom-based instruction with appropriate preparation, among them the US Public Forum Debate or the 134 P. ACZEL ■ A ROAD TO RHETORICA: TEACHING RHETORIC AS SOCIAL SENSITIVITY .. widespread and enjoyable British Parliamentary Debate. Both formats have clearly defined methods, concepts and rules that can be easily adapted to specific linguistic and cultural features. Hence, there is no point in further elaborating them here. A point that should be emphasized, however, is that debate can also foster growth in skills needed for cooperation and consensus. As Maxine Hairston (1974, pp. 210-11) assumes, in the process of dialogical debate, the debater should first give a brief, objective statement of the issue under discussion, then summarise in impartial and precise language and emphasise values, the differing opinions of the opponent/audience and their own opinion on that issue. Moving forward, they can present their own side of the issue, listing its foundational values and motives and compare the two (or more) positions, highlighting their common ground, outlining how their position could alter or complement that/those of their opponent(s). Finally, they should propose, based on all of the above, a solution to the debated issue, the initial problem. The prevalence of this model does not depend on practice only. It depends on developing an attitude to debating that focuses on curiosity, open-mindedness, the opportunity to learn and a friendly as well as forthcoming attitude. It does not imply some kind of false sense of security but, much more, commitment and confidence. Conclusions The study of rhetoric has been fighting for its academic and educational credibility for centuries. Although considered to be indispensable in forming a communicator, its place and role in both student and teacher training still holds seemingly little significance and thus requires recon-ceptualization. Rhetoric education in Hungary (and presumably in more Central-European countries) is still suffering from the effects of the political and social system that only came to an end at the final decade of the 20th century - a system that oppressed persuasive-deliberative-dialogic discourses altogether. On the one hand, there is an urgent need to translate foundational works (on argumentation, rhetorical criticism, applied rhetorical research) and keep pace with tested methods concerning rhetorical theory and practice. On the other hand, new aspects should be integrated into the definition of rhetoric and rhetorical skills. These new aspects could lead us, professors, lecturers and teachers of rhetoric to change the pathway of rhetoric education. The present paper introduced the interpretation of rhetoric as the creative study of (strategic) social behaviour. It aimed to point at the differences this view of the ancient faculty can offer in comparison with the text- (product/procedure) based approach that is generally exploited in 135 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXX, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 secondary schools at present. By identifying rhetorical sensitivity as the core aim of learning rhetoric, the structure and outcomes of teaching rhetoric could be outlined, that is, the rhetorical citizen who is sensitive to the actual situation, holds confidence in others, has analytical and formative skills, and feels ready to participate in social interactions. Three phases could be proposed for the teaching program of rhetoric. One that addresses critical thinking and through this, breeds rhetorical critical skills. One that supports communicative creativity and improves the multimodal formation of communicative acts and one that opens up the social space for cooperation and debating. With highlighting the key principles that could govern this teaching programme, this paper aimed to frame a new understanding of rhetoric as a social science that has an overarching nature regarding community and social skills. This new approach (Aczel, 2019b) entails a view that rhetoric should work for and within sustainable human communities. Every rhetorical practice should start with the world and not the word and end with a change that serve good human ends. This present essay means to be a humble contribution to a new era of teaching rhetoric infused by this apprehension. References Aczel, P. 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(1993) Nietzsche and the Aesthetics of Rhetoric. Quarterly Journal of Speech 79(2), pp. 131—145. DOI: https://www.doi.org/io.3232o/i58i-6o443o(5-6)i2i-i39 139 Slovenian Experience with Rhetoric in Primary Schools Igor Z. Zagar According to rather anecdotal sources (Farenga, 1979, pp. 1035-36),1 in the 5th century BC (467-66) the city of Syracuse was dominated by Gelon and Hieron, the most brutal tyrants. As the Syr-acusans were being reigned over so brutally and inhumanely and, so the legend says, prayed to Zeus to free them from that bitter servitude. Zeus freed the Syracusans from the tyranny. Consequently, the Syracusan people's Assembly decreed to have control over everything. However, a person named Corax, possibly a member of the overthrown regime, saw that the people were an undisciplined crowd, and figured that speech may give structure to a person's character; so, he made sure to persuade and dissuade the people for their own good by means of speech. What seemed of prime importance was the land. Namely, Gelon and Hieron took the land from their owners and distributed it to their mercenary soldiers; now that they were overthrown, the land had to be restituted to their original owners. But so, the misty sources say, there were no written records, there was no cadaster. Therefore, it was decided that people who wanted their land back had to appear in front of the Assembly, and persuade it only by speaking (speech) that a particular piece of land belonged to them. Some of them succeeded, some of them did not, I believe. I am also guessing that those who were more eloquent, and knew their way with words (how to do things with words), even got back more * This paper is a revised version of a keynote lecture given at the 1st Panhellenic Conference on Rhetoric: "The Art of Speech in Didactic Practice. In Search of Modern Aspects of Rhetorical Paidea", Athens, Alimos, 9-10 February 2019. The original version is to be published in the proceedings, some time in 2019. 1 There are several versions of this story. See also Kennedy, 2009. 141 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXX, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 land than those who were not so handy with words. This is just a speculation, there is no historical evidence to support it. Why is this anecdote important, even today? Because it shows that speech, organized and structured speech, in the right moment and in the right place, is not meant just to please the ears in poetry and drama, but can have economic and political force to change things. Syracusans got their land back just by speaking, and today, we all know about the enormous force (well structured) speech had in Athenian democracy. Vir bonus dicendiperitus (Quint. Inst. 12.1.1), though the phrase appeared much later, was the order of the day. Slovenian National Assembly on Rhetoric Which brings us to the Slovenian situation and to the rather bizarre story about rhetoric becoming a compulsory elective subject in Slovenian primary schools (compulsory elective means that all primary schools have to offer it; there are 454 of them in Slovenia). Here is the story. Soon after the Slovenian independence in 19 91, discussions started about the reform of the educational system. The findings and the proposed direction(s) of reforms were published in the White Paper on Education in the Republic of Slovenia in 1995. During sometimes rather heated debates in the National Assembly, the problem of religious education came up. Some of the parties advocated the introduction of religious education into schools (like Christian Democrats), some of them did not (like Liberal Democrats). In one of these debates, a representative of Liberal Democrats came to the speaker stage and said (the quotation is approximate, there are no reliable written records): What we Slovenians need, now that Slovenia is independent, is not religious education in schools. What we need, what our children need is to learn how to speak properly, we need rhetoric. Therefore, I propose a motion that rhetoric become a subject in the new curriculum, not religious education. The motion was put to the vote and to general surprise, rhetoric was voted as a new, compulsory elective subject in the new curriculum. You should know that Slovenia holds a world record in the number of so-called rhetorical schools per capita. Almost everybody has them, from the Chamber of Commerce to religious orders to industrious individuals that want to earn some easy money. These schools promise to teach you the basics of logic, rhetoric and argumentation in just 4 hours. Or, they promise you, how to dress appropriately for different occasions, how to use cutlery, when and how to blow your nose in public, even how 142 I. Ž. ŽAGAR ■ SLOVENIAN EXPERIENCE WITH RHETORIC IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS to cut your nails. How to sell things efficiently has also been a hot "rhetorical" topic in the last 10 years. Mostly, these schools would be run by people from theatre, TV presenters or people from marketing, but usually, anybody could do. And what they would teach/sell is mostly the last canon of rhetoric, delivery (actio or hypokrisis), leaving out the basic canons of rhetoric: inventio, dispositio and elocutio. As you can see, with the decision of the National Assembly, we were confronted with a hard task: to establish rhetoric in its historical framework, as a subject that educates for active citizenship in contrast with a cheap everyday praxis that sees rhetoric as a rather instant tool for selling things. So, I was asked to write the syllabus. In doing so, I was completely on my own, because no other country in the world had rhetoric as a school subject in its own right. I was mostly in contact with colleagues from the USA where (classic) rhetoric still enjoys a much greater reputation (in academia as well as in professional life) than in Europe where, since the 19th century, rhetoric became reduced to lists of rhetorical figures mostly taught in courses on world literature. The syllabus was ready and officially approved in 1999 (Zagar, Z. et al., 1999/2004), and the teaching of rhetoric in primary schools started in 2000/2001. But, of course, the need to implement the syllabus caused new problems: the textbook, for different reasons, was not ready until 2006 (Zidar et al., 2006), and there was no university program that would educate teachers of rhetoric. What to do? What we did, at the Educational Research Institute where I work and with the help of the Ministry for Education, Science and Sport was to organize intensive in-service education/training for prospective teachers of rhetoric: 3 consecutive days, 8 hours per day, free of charge. The demand for this in-service training was extraordinary, but so was the stress, for the participants and for us, the trainers (coaches), who were working Saturdays and Sundays, the whole day through. But after a few enthusiastic and successful years, the economic situation worsened, and the Ministry demanded that these in-training seminars become payable. Since our seminar was the most extensive one, the price they set was 826 per person. Which is a lot, for schools as well as for individuals. So, the interest and the attendance dropped immediately; in the year that followed there was no more in-service training. Also the teacher support, organized by the National Institute of Education, followed the same track: in a few years the Subject (discussion) group for Rhetoric was dismantled, and slowly schools were offering Rhetoric as 143 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXX, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 an "ordinary" elective subject, one among 60-70 (depending on how one counts). With the new government that took office in 2014, things have somehow changed and there was a renewed interest in rhetoric. What also helped was that I became the director of the Educational Research Institute in 2015, which gave me more institutional power and the possibility to push things further. So we are now in the process of revising the syllabus for primary schools (Zmavc et al. 2018), preparing the syllabus for secondary schools and even negotiating a new university program for educating the future teachers of rhetoric.2 How the Syllabus was Structured Now, after this long but necessary introduction, it is time to show you how our syllabus was constructed, what worked and what did not, what in more than 15 years of practice - accompanied with big changes in society and advances in the technological development - turned out to be too difficult, and what will have to be adapted to the new generations of the 21st century. Our definition, the starting point in the rhetoric syllabus was the following (Zagar, Z. et al., 1999/2004, p. 2): Rhetoric is a discipline which, in various forms and scope, has accompanied mankind practically throughout history. This, of course, is not accidental, since the aim and objective ofrhetoric is the analysis and more accurate and precise formation ofarguments and techniques ofpersuasion in all spheres ofhuman life from everyday seemingly trivial conversation through the media and educational system (to mention but two spheres) to scientific discourse. What is said or written can have an optimal effect only where a speech or written record is adequately structured when it is relevant to its objective and its target audience. And the aim of the new school subject (ibid., p. 3): The aim of rhetoric as a compulsory elective subject is to teach pupils not only the concepts of persuasion and argument, but also the techniques of persuasion, elements of persuasion procedure, factors of successful persuasion, forms of persuasion, structuring of (persuasive) speech, and the versatile command of speech situations on the one side, the differ- 2 Activities that are related to the revision of syllabus for primary school and preparing a syllabus for secondary school are a part of the project Developing of theoretical bases and practical guidelines for teaching rhetoric in the primary and secondary school" (2018-, head: dr. Janja Zmavc), which is founded by the Ministry ofEducation, Science and Sport. 144 I. Ž. ŽAGAR ■ SLOVENIAN EXPERIENCE WITH RHETORIC IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS ence between persuasion and argument, the distinction between good and bad arguments, the elements of good argumentation, and (if time and interest allow for it) incorrect argumentative procedures on the other. And finally, the rationale (ibid., p. 2): Teaching rhetoric in Grade 9 is not an end in itself; above all, it should teach pupils to independently, coherently and critically form and express their opinions in other subjects in the course of further education as well as in all (other) areas of social and private life. Now, looking 20 years back, this is quite a program, very traditional and classic, but also very ambitious and (probably) too packed. If I am completely sincere, now, after 20 years, I see the program as so complex that even my university students would not be able to master it completely. Such an evaluation is, of course, only possible after 15 years of experience and practice, but why is that, why does the syllabus seem so ambitious from a chronological perspective? First of all because initially it was meant for the last three years of the primary school: the 7th, 8th and 9th grade. But, according to the official procedure, after it was finished and before it was approved by the Special Council for General Education, the syllabus had to be evaluated by developmental psychologists. And their judgment was that the contents presented (and required) in the syllabus for rhetoric were too difficult, i.e. too abstract and too demanding for the pupils in the 7th and 8th grade - therefore they assigned it only to the last, the 9 th grade. Consequently, to rhetoric as a compulsory elective subject, 32 lessons (of 45 minutes) a year were assigned, or 1 lesson a week. Just for comparison: at the university level, for a similar syllabus, we have 30 hours of lectures, 15 hours of seminar work and 30 hours of exercises. It was, therefore, obvious from the very beginning, that some of the content will have to be left out (more about that as I go on). These were our general objectives, what about the operative objectives? Within operative objectives, we postulated 8 functional and 2 educational objectives. If we start with educational objectives (ibid., p. 2): 1) Pupils learn to perform in public and express their points of view. 2) Pupils learn successful persuasion and argumentation. In a nutshell, these were the basic demands and goals of rhetorical education in ancient Athens: to educate an active citizen. An active citizen in those unique times of direct democracy meant a person that could 145 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXX, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 competently participate in public life. This is now an explicit objective in our present revision of the syllabus, mostly because of the changes in society in the last 20 years. And what were the functional objectives necessary to meet the educational objectives? They are as follows, in hierarchical and pedagogical order (ibid.): 1. Pupils learn what rhetoric is. 2. Pupils learn why it is useful to learn rhetoric. 3. Pupils learn the ethics of dialogue. 4. Pupils learn what argumentation is. 5. Pupils learn the difference between good and bad argument (not compulsory). 6. By learning the component parts of rhetorical technique, pupils understand how they can form a convincing speech. 7. Pupils learn how important the character of the speaker and the passions of the listeners are for successful persuasion. 8. Pupils learn about the origins and history of rhetoric (not compulsory). You are probably wondering what "non-compulsory" means? It means that it is a content that can be left out. I have already mentioned that the syllabus was finally approved just for the 9 th grade, so if anything had to be left out in those modest 32 hours of teaching rhetoric, it should be these two things: - History of rhetoric. We judged it was more important for the pupils to learn how to construct an effective and persuasive speech; - The difference between good and bad arguments. Especially from a philosophical point of view, this is an important topic. But again, working with just 32 hours, we judged that at this level (9th grade), it was more important for the pupils to learn what an argument is, how to build it, and where to use it, then to master the difference between good and bad arguments (which is, by the way, still a hot topic among argumentation theorists). You may also wonder why we placed argumentation before parts of speech. The answer is that argumentation and argument (of one kind or another) play such a crucial role in rhetoric and persuasion, that we judged it of paramount importance in learning the basics of rhetorical technique. If pupils manage to master (well, learn) what argumentation is and what role arguments play in the game of persuasion and the structure of speech, it will be much easier for them to master the role of other parts of speech, 146 I. Ž. ŽAGAR ■ SLOVENIAN EXPERIENCE WITH RHETORIC IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS canons of rhetoric or officia oratoris for that matter. And the 15 years practice proved as right; though on the other hand, the concepts of argument and argumentation caused many problems and misunderstanding (as I will be showing later). Definitions, Goals, Activities How did we structure the syllabus in view ofachieving these operative objectives? Let us start with the first functional objective: "Pupils learn what rhetoric is." First, we set up the definition of what needs to be learned/mastered and then set up the activities to achieve this goal. Like this (ibid., p. 3): Definition: "Pupils learn that rhetoric is not an art or a science, but a skill (or technique)". 1 Activities: "Based on concrete school subjects, pupils look at the difference between arts (e.g. music and painting), sciences (e.g. mathematics and physics), and skills (e.g. physical education: skiing and skating)." Why did we think this (definition) was important? Because we wanted to make it very clear from the very beginning that rhetoric is something that everybody can learn (with sufficient exercise and motivation, of course). Not everybody can be a nuclear physicists or concert pianist, but everybody can learn to speak coherently and persuasively in public. It was meant as an encouragement with the main motto: repetitio est mater studiorum. Or if we look at the second definition (under the same heading (ibid.)): Definition: "Pupils understand the social dependency of successful persuasion: its dependency on speech situation, target audience and the valid system of values." 1 Activities: "Pupils prepare two speeches on the same subject: one which they think will be a success, and another which they think will fail; they explain the reasons for their decision in the classroom." And why is it important that pupils at this stage of their development and maturity learn that there are different speech situations, different target audiences, different systems of values? Because it de-naturalizes their everyday personal experiences, those that are obvious, usual and homely for them, these activities serve as a kind of Verfremdung effect, as Bertolt Brecht would call it, an alienation effect, a kind of defamiliariza-tion, a distancing from what they are used to in their everyday life, show- 147 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXX, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 ing them that there are other possibilities and options, that other people may have different values, may live in a different situation and therefore represent a different target audience demanding different approach. If this objective is rather Protagorean in nature, the next one: "Pupils learn why it is useful to learn rhetoric", is even more radical, almost Platonic (in the sense of inciting "wondering" or thaumadzein). First, there is a definition/goal (ibid., p. 4): "Pupils understand that rhetoric helps us persuade and understand in a variety of situations." And then there are activities to achieve this goal, going from empirical to abstract (ibid.): "First, pupils read a few examples from literature aloud (e.g. Tom Sawyer painting the fence). Then, they try to find (e.g. in the mass media, literature and in everyday life) examples of arguments for or in favour of something and against it." In the following step, the goal is to understand why it is possible to talk with conviction in different (and even opposing) ways about the same thing. And there are three types of activities to achieve this goal, going from the very empirical to the very abstract (ibid., p. 4): "- Pupils look at examples of different even diametrically opposed speeches on the same subject (e.g. sports, music, film, television and politics). - Pupils invent examples of different (even opposing) ways of argumentation on everyday family issues: doing the dishes, tidying, etc, and enact them from their different perspectives. - Pupils explain why it is (in their opinion) possible to look at the same things from different perspectives." Why is this inductive procedure (pedagogically) important? First of all, because it teaches pupils how to get from empirical observation (a) to abstract thinking (c). Second, because it is, again, Protagore-an in nature: it shows them that there is not just one absolute truth, but many relative truths, depending on the perspective, on the relation to the discussed problem (homo mensura > AvSpwno? ^irpov anavrwv). It shows them that one can look at things from different angles, therefore, different onlookers can see the same thing differently, they may notice different aspects of the same thing, they may evaluate it differently (depending on their intellectual, cultural, religious, economic background, or just the heat of the moment). And becoming conscious of this plurality is also the beginning of philosophical wondering, thaumazein in Plato's words: 148 I. Ž. ŽAGAR ■ SLOVENIAN EXPERIENCE WITH RHETORIC IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS why things are as they are, while they could be completely different > why there is something while it could be nothing. But this emphasis on plurality has a very rhetorical twist: if it is possible to look at the same thing from different perspectives, we can also represent it (construct it) from different perspectives. Therefore, if this is how things are (different perspectives > different conclusions > different truths), how do we tell facts from fiction, truth from falsehood? The is a question of paramount importance in the world we live in, and a question that always surfaced at our in-service training of future teachers of rhetoric. Some Problems with the Syllabus That is where and why we introduced the "ethics of dialogue" in the syllabus. I must state from the very start that naming this objective "the ethics of dialogue" was a mistake, and that we did not really succeed with this objective. It was not to be about politeness and respect, and etiquette, it was meant to be about how things work in everyday conversation, that everything that is communicated is not told explicitly (Grice, 1989), and that there are structures in language, which are systems that have argumentative potential, certain argumentative orientation (Ducrot, i996; 2009), which we have to pay attention to when constructing our arguments and speeches. Here were our goals for this objective (Zagar, Z. et al., 1999/2004, p. 5): a) "Pupils learn the unwritten rules that lead a conversation (understand maxims of quality, quantity, relation and manner)". What we had in mind was, of course, Grice's Logic and Conversation (1989, pp. 26-28) with his famous maxims: 1. The maxim of quantity, where one tries to be as informative as one possibly can, and gives as much information as is needed, and no more. 2. The maxim of quality, where one tries to be truthful, and does not give information that is false or that is not supported by evidence. 3. The maxim of relation, where one tries to be relevant, and says things that are pertinent to the discussion. 4. The maxim of manner, when one tries to be as clear, as brief, and as orderly as one can in what one says, and where one avoids obscurity and ambiguity. 5. In spite of the fact that these maxims just elaborate on our everyday conversation activity, translating it into a more standardized and 149 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXX, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 normative form, this goal failed, it was not followed or implemented, and it ended up as one of those objectives that were left out of our ambitious and packed syllabus. b) "Pupils understand that what has been said reaches beyond the literal (they understand what presuppositions and implications (implica-tures) are)." (Zagar, Z. et al., 1999/2004, p. 5) Once more, we are in Grice's universe. Consider a sentence (potential utterance), for example: Jane no longer writes fiction. > Presupposition: Jane once wrote fiction. Jane no longer writes fiction. > Possible implicatures: She turned to painting. She has a new job. She is happily married now. How can one tell them apart: Presuppositions can't be negated, implicatures can. Presuppositions can't be cancelled, implicatures can. This goal failed as well; in spite of the fact that implicitness and in-nuendos are important parts of rhetoric. It turned out it was too difficult even for the teachers, and if something is too difficult for teachers ... c) "Pupils understand that language is not only a neutral means of persuasion and argumentation, but that it can also persuade and argue by itself (e.g. language particles such as already/only, only/almost etc.)." (ibid.) With this objective we wanted to call attention to an interesting language phenomenon, discovered by French linguist O. Ducrot (1996), that different phrasing of the same "fact", put forward as an argument, can lead to different conclusions: It is already 8 o'clock > It is late. It is only 8 o'clock. > It is (still) early, while the "state-of-affairs" is the same in both cases: it is (simply) 8 o'clock. What effect/meaning/conclusion we wish to achieve depends on how we phrase the argument. This goal failed as well, though it is worth noting that it is very successful with my university students: if nothing else persuades them that it is useful and fun studying rhetoric, these kind of examples does. i5° I. Ž. ŽAGAR ■ SLOVENIAN EXPERIENCE WITH RHETORIC IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS The next operative objective, and a very important one, was (Žagar, Ž. et al., 1999/2004, p. 6): "Pupils learn what argumentation is". This objective has two goals: a) "Pupils understand the definition (To argue is to support one statement (claim, standpoint, conclusion) with one or more other statements (data, arguments ...)"; b) "Pupils learn the basic elements of argumentative procedure (they understand what data, claim and warrant are)". What we have used as a model was Toulmin's (1958) basic scheme: Claim (C) Janez is a Slovenian citizen. (standpoint, conclusion) (What have you got to go on?) Datum (D) Janez was born in Slovenia. (argument, premise) (How do you get there?) Warrant (W) People born in Slovenia will generally by Slovenian citizens. And here is the activity designed to achieve the above-mentioned goals (Žagar, Ž. et al., 1999/2004, p. 6): "Pupils in work groups analyse examples from textbooks they use in other subjects (and also in magazines they read, TV shows they watch, etc.) in terms of whether the topic is given and explained in accordance with the elements of argumentative procedure." I've chosen the Toulmin model, because I thought it was pedagog-ically and didactically the best (and I still do). Why? Because it leads the student from one stage to another with rather clear questions, serving as guidelines and instructions. But it somehow didn't work. After discussing this problem with several teachers, I think it did not work for two reasons: a) the pupils, as well as the teachers, did not understand these leading questions well. As a consequence, they did not understand the importance and the role of the warrant, because they did not understand the question, leading from the argument (datum) to the warrant: "How do you get there?" Get where, exactly? Well to the point where you have to explain why you think this particular data supports the claim, where is the relation and of what kind? But, instead of looking for a relation between D and C (argument and conclusion), they were producing more and more D's that (in their view) supported the C, but never explained their rationale. The role of the warrant is to the argument to the conclusion, or more precisely, to explain, to make it clear why this particular argument is a suitable backup for this particular conclusion (standpoint). Obviously, 151 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXX, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 leading questions were not as clear and transparent as we thought they were; maybe for philosophers, but not for the kids in primary school. So, what we are doing now in refreshing the syllabus is making these leading questions clearer and as unambiguous as possible: Claim (C) Janez is a Slovenian citizen. (How can you support this claim?) With what can you support ... Datum (D) Janez was born in Slovenia. (Why do you think this datum/ argument can act as a support for this claim?) Warrant (W) People born in Slovenia will generally by Slovenian citizens. b) the activities intended to achieve these goals demanded sitting down, reading the examples and analysing them, while pupils nowadays -as one of the teachers who have been teaching rhetoric for the last 15 years can comment - "don't like to read and write that much anymore". And that is the basic problem with almost all the activities that did not work: the need to read, to analyse/assess/think about what was read and write down the conclusions/impressions. Kids, pupils, even students just do not want to read and write anymore. Which is the major problem for future education, closely connected to the spread of digital devices in schools. Reading and Writing as a Problem (In Contemporary Education) Every year - and I have been teaching rhetoric at the university level for almost 20 years -, I start my lectures by asking the students (young people around 20 years of age): Do you read? What do you read? In the beginning, around 2000, very few students reported reading books, some of them were occasionally reading newspapers and magazines, most of them were watching TV. In the course of years that followed, books were the first to disappear from their reading horizon, soon after that newspapers and magazines followed, and in the last 3 or 4 years even TV. And when I ask them nowadays, "So, what do you read? Where do you get your information from?", they reply: "Oh, from time to time, we look things up on the internet." From time to time they look things up on the internet ... And thus, we are slowly but definitely moving from a "read and write" to the "browse and swipe" civilisation. 152 I. Ž. ŽAGAR ■ SLOVENIAN EXPERIENCE WITH RHETORIC IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS This is also what a large COST project "E-READ: Reading in the Age of Digitisation" showed. The goal of this action was to research whether there is a difference between reading from paper and reading from (any kind of) screen. A total of 52 countries participated, I was a part of this action, and so were colleagues from Greece. The project was completed last year, and the results were devastating: the research showed that when reading from digital devices, the reading is much shallower, there is no immersion, retention time is much shorter, and so is concentration (for reading). One piece of research even showed that when comparing two groups of pupils, working on the same task, where one of them is working with paper and pencil and the other with tablets and screens, the "digital" group is much more confident that they will complete the tasks faster and more successfully than the paper group. What the results showed after the completion of the task was that they were actually much slower than the "paper group" and they were much less successful in completing the task than the "paper group". There was no meta-study on why this is yet, but it is pretty safe to surmise that pupils' sporadic, fleeting, and superficial interaction when using social media in the digital world (Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat ...) were kind of automatically, because of the media used, transferred to more demanding tasks being represented digitally on the screens. Now, if we return to our problem with argumentation in the implementation of the rhetoric syllabus objectives: if Toulmin's basic scheme presented a problem (because the leading questions were not clear enough), what did the students do instead? They turned to debate, unstructured debate to be exact, where they had to set a claim/standpoint and find as many arguments in its support, wherever they were prepared to look for them. This is also the point where teachers gave up and adapted to the demands of the syllabus to the new reality. Namely, the syllabus demands that pupils get three grades in the course of the year: two for preparing and delivering a speech and one for rhetorical analysis of the speech or text. In writing. Teachers gave up on the last task, and replaced it with debate, grading the debate competition. No analysis, no writing. This uneasiness with reading and especially with writing is probably also the reason why the operative objective (though an elective one (ibid., p. 6)): "Pupils learn the difference between good and bad argument" did not work well either. The goal could have probably passed as acceptable: "Pupils understand that a good argument has to be true, acceptable, relevant and sufficient for the intended purpose." 53 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXX, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 But the activity seemed too demanding: "Pupils in work groups analyse examples from textbooks they use in other subjects (and also in magazines they read, TV shows they watch, etc.), and explain whether and why the arguments used are true, acceptable, relevant and sufficient. In order to construct good/acceptable arguments themselves, one has to learn about existing/available arguments first as well as about the criteria for their assessment (by reading them, analysing them, forming an opinion/conclusion; there is no other way). Instead, they started to construct their own arguments from scratch, compiling as many arguments as possible for one conclusion. Let us move to the 6th objective (ibid., p. 7): "By learning the component parts of rhetorical technique (canons of rhetoric), pupils understand how they can form a convincing speech", which worked a bit better. With some shortcut and modifications, of course. Invention (ibid.) Goal: "Pupils understand how they can find arguments on any topic/subject by asking the right questions (who, what, where, with whose help, how, why, when)." I Activities: "By using the net of seven questions (who, what, etc.) pupils practise looking for arguments on a given subject (e.g. the Olympic slalom winner, the heaviest man on Earth, the President of the Republic or pollution of the environment)." The net of 7 questions proved useful when looking for arguments in order to construct a speech, but not in exercising/applying them on different materials, set in advance. Disposition (ibid.) Goals a) "Pupils understand that only with proper disposition of speech components (introduction, narration, argumentation and epilogue) it is possible to achieve persuasive effects." b) "Pupils learn speech components and understand their functions." I Activities a) "Pupils in work groups analyze individual texts (e.g. from fiction, journalism ...) and find out whether they are composed/written in accordance with the rules of disposition; they argue their findings and explain them in the classroom (also in discussion with a fellow pupil representing the opposing point- of-view)." 154 I. Ž. ŽAGAR ■ SLOVENIAN EXPERIENCE WITH RHETORIC IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS b) "Pupils prepare short speeches in accordance with the rules of disposition on a given topic; they argue their decision (choice and order of speech components) and explain it in the classroom." Again, activity a) meant as a necessary preparatory stage for activity b) did not work that well because it demanded quite some reading and analyzing. Getting acquainted with existing speeches (or texts) is a necessary step for constructing one's own speeches, but it demands time and effort, so it was dropped (due also to the fact that there were only 32 hours available). Activity b) on the other hand worked quite OK, all things considered, except for the second part, arguing the decision and explaining it in the classroom. Elocution (ibid., pp. 7-8) Goals "Pupils understand that with different wordings of the same topic (the same arguments) they can achieve different effects on their listeners. 1 Activities a) "Using the basic techniques of different wordings (addition, subtraction, transposition, substitution) pupils change the given text to make it sound more/less polite/convincing, etc.; they explain their decision, in accordance with the rules of rhetorical skill and speech structure, in the classroom (also in discussion with a fellow pupil, representing the opposing point of view)." b) "Pupils write a short speech on a given subject and then exchange it with the pupil sitting next to them, who tries to (re)write the speech using other words by: - Keeping the same emphasis; - Making it sound stronger (sharper); - Making it sound weaker (softer); - Trying to reshape the given speech by using the same expressions to persuade/argue in the opposite direction. They explain their decisions in accordance with the rules of rhetorical skill and speech structure in the classroom." I hope you can see that these activities were carefully designed in order to show as clearly and explicitly how large the scope of rhetoric is and what a vast array of things it can do and achieve. But all these exercises demand a lot of work and effort, a lot of writing and rewriting - while time was very limited, and so too was the motivation of students for writing and rewriting. 155 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXX, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 Memoria (ibid., p. 8): different techniques were used, but predominantly learning by heart. There was no big problem with this objective Actio (ibid., p. 8): Goals a) "Pupils understand the importance of performance and non-verbal language/body language for efficient persuasion." b) "Pupils learn and understand how gesticulation and mimics emphasize or weaken what has been said." c) "Pupils learn the importance of stress, intonation, tempo, rhythm, pitch and intensity of voice for successful persuasion." 1 Activities a) "Pupils (if possible) listen to a famous speech from history, the effects of which are well-known (they can also use inserts from films)-" b, c) "Pupils read the same speech many times by changing gesticulation and mimics, stress, intonation, tempo, rhythm, pitch and intensity of voice; they discuss the effects and reasons for such effects (also with a fellow pupil representing the opposing point-of-view)." Activities b) and c) did not work, of course, because - you must know it by now - they demanded far too much time. Again, I hope you can see that these activities - not taken out of the blue but tested and well established - were carefully planned and designed - but not for one year of teaching. I am the only culprit to be blamed, of course, but on the other hand, the syllabus was so rich with activities that it could have been read as a catalogue of activities, and teachers could have chosen just some of them, or reduce the extent of particular activities. Unfortunately, this was not the case (or very rarely). Conclusion: What Should/Could be Done? Besides the amendments I have already mentioned, here are, in rather general terms, the main changes we are going to introduce based on systematic consultations with some 20 teachers of rhetoric in primary schools, as well as with different experts from different fields. 1. When teaching the canons of rhetoric, we are not going to start with inventio, but with actio. Why? It is a didactic decision. Rhetoric is being taught in the 9 th grade, which is the last year of our primary schools. Through all their schooling, through all those previous years, they were systematically exposed to and actively participated in different kinds of "oral presentation". Therefore, we thought it 156 I. Ž. ŽAGAR ■ SLOVENIAN EXPERIENCE WITH RHETORIC IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS would be more appropriate, a "softer" start in a way, if they are introduced to rhetoric with something they already know and give this knowledge a theoretical and technical foundation. They would learn how to control the body and the voice, and how different body postures and voice modulations and manipulations, influence the audience. Which is also of great importance for the modes of persuasion. Not just for ethos and pathos, knowing how to control one's body and voice can also greatly influence logos. 2. From actio, conceived this way, we then approach inventio. We have eliminated the teaching about syllogisms, enthymemes and topoi with a heavy heart, but in these concrete circumstances where the syllabus is too packed, where there is little time to learn and practice, and where the new subject is pretty new, less is indeed more. We have also eliminated the "ethics of dialogue", merged some related objectives (objectives 6 (canons of rhetoric) and 7 (modes of persuasion) thus giving more time to exercise and practice. 3. All these eliminations were "replaced" by stasis in its simplest form, leading the seven questions grid and the invention. The simplest form meaning that pupils have to determine first whether the problem at hand is about: fact, definition (of this fact), quality (of this defined fact) or about the policy/place (of this defined and qualified fact). 4. We have restored a written analysis of a speech or a text, necessary for one of the three grades, and insisted on written preparation of speeches in our recommendations. "Browse and swipe" cannot replace "read and write", is going to be our motto. 5. And finally, rhetoric should not be a goal in itself, it should serve to educate an active citizen. We hope to achieve this goal by inter-cur-ricular modifications and adaptations, especially in close collaboration with the teachers of civic education. The necessary talks with the ministry are already on their way. References Ducrot, O. (1996) Slovenian Lectures/Conférences slovènes. Ljubljana: ISH. Ducrot, O. (2009) Slovenian Lectures. Ljubljana: Pedagoški inštitut. Farenga, V. (1979) Periphrasis on the Origin of Rhetoric. Comparative Literature 94 (5), pp. 1035-36. Grice, H. P. (1989) Studies in the Way of Words. Harvard: Harvard University Press. 157 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXX, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 Kennedy, G. A. (2009) A New History of Classical Rhetoric. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Krek, J. (ed.) (1995) White Paper on Education in the Republic of Slovenia. Ljubljana: Ministry of Education and Sport. Plato (1924) Laches. Protagoras. Meno. Euthydemus. Translated by W. R. M. Lamb. Loeb Classical Library 165. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Plato (1925) Lysis. Symposium. Gorgias. Translated by W. R. M. Lamb. Loeb Classical Library 166. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Quintilian, M. F. (2002) The Orator's Education, Volume V: Books 11-12. Edited and translated by Donald A. Russell. Loeb Classical Library 494. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Toulmin, S. (1958) The Uses of Argument. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Zidar Gale, T., Žagar, Ž., I., Žmavc, J., and Pirc, V. (2006) Retorika: uvod v govorniško veščino: učbenik za retoriko kot izbirni predmet v 9. razredu devetletnega osnovnošolskega izobraževanja. 1. izd. Ljubljana: i2. Žagar, Ž., I., Močnik, R., Pešec Zadravec, R., and Pavlin, M. (1999) Učni načrt. Program osnovna šola. Retorika [Elektronski vir] https://www. gov.si/assets/ministrstva/MIZS/Dokumenti/Osnovna-sola/Ucni-nacr-ti/izbirni/i-letni-vezani-na-razred/9-razred/Retorika_izbirni.pdf (24. 10. 2019) Žmavc, J., Cestnik, M., and Žagar, Ž., I. (2018) Posodobitev učnega načrta za obvezni izbirni predmet retorika v osnovni šoli: (predlog). Ljubljana: Pedagoški inštitut. DOI: https://www.doi.org/io.3232o/i58i-6o44.3o(5-6)i4i-i58 158 Experiences in Teaching Rhetoric as an Elective Course in Primary School Mojca Cestnik Looking back How it all began In 1999, a handful of primary schools in Slovenia started to adopt the new nine-year primary school programme, one of them being the Polzela Primary School where I teach. The Basic School Act stipulates that primary schools are required to provide pupils with a compulsory elective course in rhetoric in the ninth grade.1 In the 2001-2002 school year, when the first generation of pupils enrolled under the new programme were finishing their schooling, 21 pupils opted for this elective course at our school and 23 next year. This is how my continuing teaching of this elective course began and this is now my 16th year. The course was not held only during two school years because not enough pupils had applied. Throughout this period, the number of ninth-grade pupils opting for this elective course varied: from 7 to 25. A 25-pupil group is, of course, too large, which is why it was difficult to achieve the goals of rhetoric at the time. Typically, about 12 pupils (out of an average of 70 ninth-grade pupils) apply for this course, which is actually the ideal number of participants. I do not have the data on how many schools provide this elective course in a continual way; however, according to the Ministry of Education, rhetoric was taught in 19 primary schools in the 2015-2016, 20162017 and 2017-2018 school years consecutively. Back in the 2001-2002 school year, Polzela Primary School was the only one that provided this 1 See Basic School Act, Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 12/96 of 29 February 1996, Article 17. 159 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXX, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 elective course. During the last 16 years of teaching rhetoric, I have come a long way as a teacher and have learned a lot. The goal of this article is to present what I have learned and to describe the benefits of this elective. Because looking at the past only makes sense if it provides us with useful experience and a starting point for the future, I will also present how I see the course in the future and how the rhetoric teacher can be helpful in the school process for each primary school. Getting started Although Slovenian schools have a rich tradition of elective activities, from which elective courses have often developed, the compulsory elective course in rhetoric was something new in the nine-year primary school programme. Because Slovenian teachers had no experience in teaching this course, it is safe to say that we were not acquainted with the goals of this compulsory elective course and were not properly qualified for its teaching. The content of the course was not included in the formal education of teachers, nor was special didactics for teaching rhetoric. With the new Basic School Act, published in the Official Gazette on 29 February 1996, rhetoric has become a compulsory elective course, which means that all the schools in Slovenia are required to offer it in the ninth grade. It has thus become a challenge for all Slovenian schools. If a teacher has not been trained in a particular course, they may have different ideas about what rhetoric is and what they should teach in that course. The absence of a tradition of rhetorical pedagogy means that the general idea about rhetoric is very diverse in Slovenian society — both for teachers and others — and often represents the basis on which pupils choose the course or ask their parents to help them out. In the period after independence, various public speaking courses began to appear on the Slovenian market and public speaking skills have begun to gain recognition in the society. In the first seminars I attended as a young teacher wanting to teach rhetoric, I mainly received information about public performance skills. We mainly practiced oratory performance and non-verbal communication, and learned that Cicero said that performance was "the master of public speaking" (Ciceron, 2002, p. 299), so we focused primarily on that. We also analysed the performance of our speeches, as well as observed and analysed the performance of the speeches of others. Many of us thus adopted the idea that rhetoric is the practice of speaking skills and the acquisition of knowledge and skills for a persuasive oratory performance. It was only after reviewing the syllabus for rhetoric (Zagar et al., 1999) and attending a seminar organized by the Ljubljana Educational Research Institute that I realized that performance was 160 M. CESTNIK ■ EXPERIENCES IN TEACHING RHETORIC AS AN ELECTIVE COURSE .. only one of the speaker's tasks - a very important task, actually - and that before their performance, the speaker had to undergo a certain path and complete a complex mental process, which was not mentioned during previous seminars. It was as if we had only covered the framework at the previous seminars and that the image this frame was supposed to frame remained almost completely ignored. For the most part, we discussed how to present the content, but not what should be presented. I realised that we always achieve the final version of a speech with a completely elaborate idea of what we are going to say, and that we have to build this idea gradually, with careful planning and intensive study ofboth the content/ topic of the speech and the proper use of rhetorical principles (Zagar, Z. et al., 2018, p. 38). I also realized that rhetoric is indeed an ancient art. However, because of the lack of continuity in the school curriculum, there is no broad idea in Slovenian schools what rhetoric is all about. This, of course, is connected to the teacher's knowledge. Since we have not been trained in the formal education process to teach this course, it is crucial to acquire knowledge and develop skills for teaching pupils. At the Educational Research Institute, I received basic knowledge that opened my eyes as to what rhetoric is all about. The seminar, which took place twice and lasted for three days, introduced me to the basics and gave me a real idea of what rhetoric actually is. But this knowledge was far from enough for quality classroom teaching. We received quality information at this seminar, practiced public speaking and received good feedback on our performance: in a way, we have undergone the process that pupils have to go through. Nevertheless, we lacked a lot of knowledge: for example, how to pass all this knowledge to 14-year-olds that we, as teachers and as adult learners, have acquired, what to evaluate and by what criteria. Therefore the didactics of teaching rhetoric was needed. This is where the establishment of new grounds began. Teachers of rhetoric are/ were not connected, we were unable to exchange experiences, share good practices and discuss how to successfully achieve the goals in the classroom, which goals are more difficult for pupils to adopt and such. Rhetoric teachers were thus left to self-inquiry and their own motivation to upgrade and complete their working methods. I teach the Slovenian language, a subject in which we also teach public speaking, where speaking is one of the communication activities and developing speaking skills is one of the important activities. In teaching rhetoric, I thus helped myself with the experience gained from Slovenian language courses and vice versa. Many of the things I learned from 161 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXX, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 the seminars on rhetoric and public speaking were used in my teaching of the Slovenian language and in developing my ability to speak and public speaking. In rhetoric, I learned along with pupils each year, tried different didactic approaches, trained in teaching argumentation and speech structure and studied with the help of a textbook for rhetoric as an elective ninth-grade course: Retorika: uvod v govorniško veščino ('Rhetoric: Introduction to the Art of speaking', Zidar et al., 2006). At first, I studied the course content myself and looked for methods and forms of how to transfer this knowledge to the pupils, while also making sure that I systematically developed their abilities and imparted knowledge in a way that kept the pupils as active as possible (i.e. transactionally). This is because the teachers were left on their own after completing the seminar and thus passed the knowledge into practice according to the syllabus and the pupils to the best of their own abilities. Establishing new grounds Thefirst obstacle I had to overcome was tackling the syllabus. I had too little knowledge to understand all the professional terms. Even when I managed to explain them with the help of a textbook for the elective course, I did not know how to present them to the pupils and in a way that would make sense. At the introduction of the nine-year primary school education, we emphasized that knowledge should be useful in everyday life and that teachers should connect it with the experiential perspective of children's lives. When teaching electives, we should also start from their goals and aspirations. The questions that came to mind at the time were: - How can we link the desire of children to perform with very complex educational goals and professional terms such as syllogism or enthymeme? - How do I align syllabus goals that require more complex mental processes with the different abilities of children who come to the course of rhetoric in 6th and 7th period (or 7th and 8th period) and are already tired mentally and crave easier content and activities that do not require complex mental processes? - How should I teach rhetoric to pupils who experience reading and writing difficulties in Slovenian or about who I have already found have difficulty understanding the text and speaking? How will these pupils deal with the ranking and the wording? - How can I translate the syllabus into the annual plan so that I still follow the objectives stated in the syllabus, but approach the pupils at the same time? 162 M. CESTNIK ■ EXPERIENCES IN TEACHING RHETORIC AS AN ELECTIVE COURSE .. I tried and persisted every year to improve my notes, teaching style and working methods. In this regard, functional objectives set out in the beginning of the syllabus for the course were very helpful (Zagar et al., 1999, p. 7). These eight functional objectives (two of which are optional) presented a baseline; I understood them and can say that we implemented them successfully. In contrast, the detailed operational objectives were often too difficult for both myself and for the pupils (ibid. p. 7-14). In all these years, I somehow steered a middle course between a professionally demanding syllabus, my skills gaps and pupils' interests. This is how a revised annual lesson plan was developed each year anew. I tried at least one new method every year and responded to a new group of pupils. Each group had special characteristics and it seemed to me, as a teacher, that the most important thing is to adapt to the pupils, their capabilities and interests, all in connection with the syllabus. As is done in Slovenian language course, where 20% of the objectives are chosen by the teacher according to the group of pupils, it appeared appropriate to do the same in rhetoric course. For example, if the group was composed of pupils with high cognitive and well-developed communication abilities, I mentioned digression and topoi during oral presentations. The second challenge of the annual lesson plan was to arrange the objectives into 32 hours of one school year. Which content should I begin with and which should I continue with? I tried to find an optimal way every year and I believe that after 15 years I have found the most appropriate distribution of objectives and the best way of achieving them. The second major obstacle was the didactic approach, mainly in terms of teaching argumentation. I struggled with how to explain argumentation and transfer the knowledge about an argument and conclusion to the pupil's preparation for the oral presentation. This turned out to be the main obstacle over and over again. When teaching individual examples of an argument and conclusion, the pupils partially understand them, but it depends on the examples and the pupils' capabilities. However, the problems occur when they have to form all of the above themselves and keep it in mind during their oral presentation. While they are used to talking about a particular topic and presenting their knowledge (e.g. about World War II, the state, insects and natural phenomena), they are not familiar with persuading, making statements and supporting them in the presentation. They always found the set of relevant topics interesting (e.g. It is healthy and beneficial to have a pet, Teenagers need to have pocket money, Vegetarianism is healthy, Drug use in athletics spoils fair competition). They were happy to choose the topic that appealed most to them, searched for literature, but putting their thoughts into words usually fell through. 163 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXX, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 This is how I realised that rhetoric develops the capabilities, which means they have to undergo a process of development, also with the teacher's help in the school setting. Furthermore, it turned out that it is important for the pupils to go through the five speaker tasks during the lessons at school so that I can help and guide them. My aim was to develop didactic approaches, particularly in teaching argumentation and its use in speech, as the understanding and the use of argumentation are certainly the two major objectives for each school year. During the teaching process, I kept in mind that the transactional approach should prevail when working with pupils. This means that the teacher is there not only to transfer the knowledge, but so that the pupils learn to present findings, formulate rules with the teacher's help, and apply them in new circumstances in the learning process by observing persuasion techniques, elements of the persuasion process and factors of successful persuasion. The third major obstacle was completely practical. The rhetoric course was held every 14 days for two consecutive lessons and, for some pupils, these were their 6th and 7th periods, and for some even their 7th and 8th periods. It is therefore completely normal and expected that the pupils are tired and unable to complete long and challenging mental activities. For this reason I planned the two lessons in such a way that the demanding content was discussed at the beginning of the first lesson and followed by various activities and exercises of putting knowledge into practice. I had to make sure the activities changed regularly (listening, exercises, speaking, exercises, working in groups and so on). Of course there were several small obstacles, one of them being the assessment of knowledge. The syllabus recommends that pupils receive two grades for the completed oral presentations and one for an analysis (Zagar et al., 1999, p. 16), but I had to decide what to evaluate and in which part of the school year so that the requirements of the rules were met, and I also had to develop criteria and assessment descriptors. Teachers certainly improve their teaching skills every year when working with pupils, but they also need professional feedback to know whether they are on the right path, a connection with other teachers, as well as the possibility to exchange good practice experiences and attend additional professional training. Until 2008, this process was more or less successful as the Educational Research Institute still organised professional seminars for rhetoric teachers. Because I participated in those seminars as a teacher with first-hand experiences, I was able to speak about my experiences and received feedback. However, since 2008 this seminar is 164 M. CESTNIK ■ EXPERIENCES IN TEACHING RHETORIC AS AN ELECTIVE COURSE .. no longer being organised and no meetings are being held with the other teachers and the two experts Igor Ž. Žagar and Janja Žmavc. The obstacles have already been mentioned; however it is important to address which benefits of this elective course did I notice and why I find it essential and useful in primary school. Why is a rhetoric course essential? As already discussed, the following objectives were listed in the nine-grade primary schooling curricula, such as: - In the Slovenian language syllabus: "They evaluate texts and justify their opinion /.../ they evaluate the interesting aspects, truthfulness, clarity and usefulness of the text and justify their opinion /.../ they evaluate the interesting aspects, vividness and clarity of the text, propose corrections/improvements and justify their opinion" (Pozna-novič Jezeršek et al., 2018, pp. 7-8). - In the History syllabus: "/.../ the pupil justifies the importance of Enlightenment ideas on the formation of the United States /.../ justifies characteristics and changes" (Kunaver et al., 2011, p. 34). - In the Geography syllabus: "/.../ the pupil justifies the development and importance of traffic, draws logical conclusions, looks for findings and justifies them." (Kolnik et al., 2011, p. 15, 20). All the randomly selected examples above show that modern curricula require pupils to express their opinions and justify them. But where do pupils learn to justify? Who trained the teachers for such an approach? I believe it is up to the enthusiasm and personal professional development of the teacher to gain this knowledge. I am aware that the National Education Institute Slovenia organises seminars that focus on the development of the teachers' communication competences and partly touch on rhetoric and argumentation, but the approach is not comprehensive and systematic. Furthermore, the same Institute published a book written by Alenka Kompare and Tanja Rupnik Vec titled Kako spodbujati razvoj mišljenja: Od temeljnih miselnih procesov do argumentiranja ('How to encourage the development of thinking: From basic thinking processes to argumentation', 2016). Primary school teachers certainly need this kind of material, which is useful, but this is not a comprehensive approach or a set of actions that would systematically be suitable for all primary schools. I therefore believe that only the rhetoric teacher can convey the knowledge of argumentation to other teachers as he or she can help them unify their knowledge and, together as a team, they can all progress and thus help pupils develop more complex thinking processes. 165 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXX, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 Pupils perform oral presentations from ist grade onwards. Although the Slovenian syllabus outlines the topics and steps in the preparation of the oral presentation, it is up to the teacher to set the criteria and descriptors. Teachers of rhetoric can therefore help other teachers at school as they guide the pupils through the preparations for oral presentation. This way, the pupils are aware of the five speaker tasks and really learn to use them, work together to set the criteria for oral presentations that increase the complexity in accordance with the pupils (and not in accordance with the teacher) and to make sure the criteria for oral presentations are harmonised vertically in all courses. Teachers of rhetoric can organize seminars for other teachers of the teaching staff and share the knowledge about the basic tasks of the speaker, speech structure, performance, verbal and non-verbal communication as well as a flexible (i.e. verbal and non-verbal) control of the speech situation and argumentation skills. How to move forward? The elective course in rhetoric has numerous benefits. A rhetoric course actually puts into practice exactly what curriculum designers want to bring to primary school, i.e. for the pupils to carefully read different types of texts or listen to them, read between the lines and use reason based on facts. Rhetoric can help pupils acquire the skills for preparing an oral presentation with arguments and, at the same time, train their public speaking skills, which is a competence they develop from ist grade onwards. It would therefore be worth considering whether it would be suitable to offer courses in rhetoric as early as in the 8th grade (i.e. to both the eighth-and ninth-grade pupils) as the gained knowledge would benefit them in various subjects in the 9th grade and it would also mean that the rhetoric teacher could be more interdisciplinary interconnected. It would also be appropriate as well as necessary to organize professional seminars for the teachers of rhetoric, who nowadays have to extend their knowledge on their own. The seminars would not only provide them with expertise they did not acquire during their formal education, but could also offer some training in didactics they urgently need, that is, how to transfer this expertise to the ninth-grade pupils, how to distribute the objectives within one school year, how to upgrade and differentiate them, what to assess and how, and how to interact and connect with teachers vertically. Teachers grow and develop professionally at peer-to-peer meetings, where teaching and assessment experiences can be exchanged, where discussions on what achieving the objectives looks like, where recorded oral presentations can be evaluated, and in this way unify assessment criteria. 166 M. CESTNIK ■ EXPERIENCES IN TEACHING RHETORIC AS AN ELECTIVE COURSE .. It would be a good idea to create a network of teachers of rhetoric and provide professional guidance in order to achieve that. It should be added that new literature is always welcome. The textbook published in 2006 and has proved to be a textbook suitable for teachers of rhetoric, but not that useful for pupils. We certainly need a didactic manual for teaching rhetoric and perhaps some other materials that will help teachers teach argumentation in primary school along with public speaking exercises. Many years of experience show that pupils are eager to progress as speakers and are often encouraged by their parents who were unable to receive such education. Pupils (mostly unsystematically) develop their speaking abilities in other subjects. This is why it is the task of rhetoric and teachers of rhetoric to vertically connect the teachers at the school in the development of this competence. And when pupils reach the 9th grade, they can develop more complex mental processes and learn to speak with strong arguments. Long-term experience of teaching rhetoric and working with other teachers allows me to say with certainty that rhetoric has a bright future as an elective course in primary school. References Ciceron, Mark Tulij (2002) O govorniku. Prevedla Ksenja Geister. Ljubljana: Družina. Kolnik, K. et al. (2011) Učni načrt. Program osnovna šola. Geografija [Elektronski vir] https://www.gov.si/assets/ministrstva/MIZS/Dokumenti/ Osnovna-sola/Ucni-nacrti/obvezni/UN_geografija.pdf (24. 10. 2019) Kompare, A., and Rupnik Vec T. ( 2016) Kako spodbujati razvoj mišljenja: od temeljnih miselnih procesov do argumentiranja. Ljubljana: Zavod Republike Slovenije za šolstvo. Kunaver, V. et al. (2011) Učni načrt. Program osnovna šola. Zgodovina [Elektronski vir] https://www.gov.si/assets/ministrstva/MIZS/Dokumenti/ Osnovna-sola/Ucni-nacrti/obvezni/UN_zgodovina.pdf (24. 10. 2019) Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia (1996) No. 12(96). Poznanovič Jezeršek, M. et al. (2018) Učni načrt. Program osnovna šola. Slovenščina [Elektronski vir] https://www.gov.si/assets/ministrstva/ MIZS/Dokumenti/Osnovna-sola/Ucni-nacrti/obvezni/UN_slovensci-na.pdf (24. 10. 2019) Zidar, T., Žagar, Ž., I,, Žmavc, J., and Pirc, V. (2006) Retorika: uvod v govorniško veščino: učbenik za retoriko kot izbirni predmet v 9. razredu devetletnega osnovnošolskega izobraževanja. Ljubljana: i2. 167 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXX, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 Žagar, Ž., I, Močnik, R., Pešec Zadravec, R., and Pavlin, M. (1999) Učni načrt. Program osnovna šola. Retorika [Elektronski vir] https://www. gov.si/assets/ministrstva/MIZS/Dokumenti/Osnovna-sola/Ucni-nacr-ti/izbirni/i-letni-vezani-na-razred/9-razred/Retorika_izbirni.pdf (24. 10. 2019) Žagar Ž. I., Žmavc, J., and Domanjko, B. (2018) Učitelj kot retorik: re- torično-argumentativni vidiki pedagoškega diskurza. Ljubljana: Pedagoški inštitut. DOI: https://www.doi.org/io.3232o/i58i-6o443o(5-6)i59-i68 168 BOOK REVIEWS Book reviews Frau-Meigs, Divina, O'Neill, Brian, Soriani, Allesandro, Tomé, Vitor, Digital citizenship education: Volume 1 — Overview and new perspectives. Strasbourg: Council of Europe, 2017. The influx of digital technologies in our daily life over the last decades have had a significant impact on the way we gather and transmit information, participate socially and politically, and engage with different issues globally. That is to say, digital technologies have had a transformative impact on traditional forms of information, participation and engagement. The development of competences and skills in the new forms of participation, however, shall not be haphazardly and spontaneously, left only on the possibilities that the technology brings to us. Today's youth and the upcoming generations must be aware of their norms, rights and obligations as citizens in a society which has become increasingly digital. As Villano Qiriazi (2017), head of the Education Policy Division at the Council of Europe, points out, an important objective of the European Union's agenda is the support of youth being active digital citizens in a safe online environment. Obviously, this objective shows the need for the authorities to adopt a comprehensive approach towards digital citizenship education. This, in turn, means to integrate digital citizenship into school curricula. The action the Council of Europe took in regard to the digital life of children in the last 10 years, however, was focused mainly towards their safety and protection in the digital environment instead of their empowerment through education or acquisition of the required competences to become active participants in the digital society. 171 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXX, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 The book "Digital citizenship education: Overview and new perspectives", written by Divina Frau-Meigs, Brian O'Neill, Allesandro So-riani and Vitor Tomé is the first volume in the series of publications on digital citizenship education, issued by the European Commission. The book is a literature review of the literature on this emerging topic which the authors have even proposed to become part of the civic and citizenship curricula in the EU member states. The book is divided into six major chapters. The first chapter provides an overview of the existing 14 different definitions and frameworks of the concept of digital citizenship. The concept shall not be understood only as the possession of digital skills and knowledge but, more importantly, the skill sets for needed participation, democracy, social engagement and human rights. The second chapter brings the relationship between the national policies on the topic and the industry where internet providers and social media platforms are considered as the main stakeholder in defining and implementing the policies within digital citizenship education. In particular for the industry, this is happening in the area of data management, privacy and safety, which is an important aspect of digital society, but not the core aspect related to the empowerment of individuals. It is important to note that using the technology itself represents the "hard skills", but it does not represent and is not sufficient to being a digital citizen in the digital society. A set of socio-emotional and socio-relational competences ("soft skills") are required for participating in the digital society and for being defined as a digital citizen. In addition, the digital space and the real world coexist and the exchange between them shapes within a cycle of mutual influence. The third chapter explores digital citizenship as a "sense-making practice" and how the digital culture determines practices aiming at long-term experiential strategies which, in turn, contribute to participatory and inclusive approaches of digital citizenship education. The fourth chapter focuses on social literacy and how it relates to the digital environment, and consequently how it is prioritised in digital citizenship education. The existing frameworks give priority to the social-relational skills and attitudes which narrows the focus towards values like inclusion, diversity and empathy, which are considered as the base of fostering positive online participation. The fifth chapter is about the major challenges in the implementation of digital citizenship education which have to be taken into account when developing effective strategies on the topic. One of the core issues in the implementation is the co-existence of the real world and digital space 172 BOOK REVIEWS where citizens participate, as described in Chapter 2, and the way they not only shape but also complement each other. Participation online can evolve into participation in the real world. The sixth and final chapter draws upon the specific recommendations for developing digital citizenship education strategies based on the review in the previous sections of the book. The authors propose two key directions: implementation strategy and awareness strategy. One of the issues related to digital citizenship that the authors point out is the large variety of the existing definitions of the concept in the 14 selected frameworks they scrutinize. This requires alignment of the strategies with these frameworks for effective implementation. Although there are numerous definitions of digital citizenship, there is an emerging consensus that in the educational context, it is a transversal dimension which involves values, skills, attitudes, knowledge and critical understanding -all of them are required by citizens in the digital era. It also relates to the development of inclusive strategies not only for youth, but for all ages and, more importantly, for all cultural contexts while balancing different literacies and all strategies needed to be coherent and long term. The context, as the authors point out, have different values and values are dealt with in a different way in different contexts. However, going beyond the content of the book, when it comes to the cultural contexts, we need to relate them to the diminishing so-called "nationally bounded membership" or "legal membership" in a nation-state where the nation-state defines the civil, social, political rights and responsibilities, i.e. the traditional forms of citizenship (Choi, 2016). The questions we need to ask ourselves in this regard is how nationally bounded membership is still valid in an interconnected and global world where national borders start to fade and cultural context is not isolated. A world there is an increasing exchange of information, ideas and reactions to events in other countries in the world and globally. The reader shall bear in mind that digital citizenship is a new concept and any strategies of teaching and learning, as well as implementing changes in civic and citizenship education, have to be done carefully. This will be a long-term process which requires further in-depth definitions, specifications and discussions of any implementations of digital citizenship education in the curriculum. This is probably why the book does not prescribe any specific sets of goals or topics. Further developments and theorizing in this area are needed, especially for the precise definition of digital citizenship in relation to the way how digitalisation and mediatisation in a technological sense can have an impact upon citizenship. In this regard, several studies (e.g. see Rainie, Smith, Schlozman, Brady and i73 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXX, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 Verba, 2012) have found that the use of digital technologies and social media in particular have a profound effect on youth's civic participation and, in addition, that social media can be more effective in enhancing participation due to its interactivity, as opposed to the traditional media channels where communication is unidirectional. The power social media has, however, can often be untamed and elemental. The book provides a good example from a South Korean philosopher who points out that one of the biggest challenges for digital citizens is the participation: the internet did not make things easier for citizens, but harder and more complicated when it comes to gathering together in order to bring about collective change in a way that can affect their communities. In this regard, the authors stress the need for raising policymakers' awareness of the risk that a lack of digital citizenship education poses to youth in terms of exclusion especially when if the youth lacks the necessary literacy to empower them as citizens. This risk may also extend to creative and critical actors and this is why the authors point out that digital citizenship education should start at an early age. This shall be done through a communication plan which uses the framework in a coherent way with simple messages aimed at decision makers. On the other hand, digital citizenship education needs to be a coherent part of all other literacies instead of a separate or special form of educational content or discipline. This would also increase the need for training professionals in using competence frameworks and developing their own capacities to (1) evaluate; (2) express their experience; and (3) transfer their results. The book will be of interest to policymakers, educators and researchers in the area of civic and citizenship education. The new realities which technologies bring to our society come with new opportunities, but also with certain challenges which we did not face with traditional forms of communication, civic participation and engagement. It is important to keep in mind that digital citizenship is not a state that everyone can reach after completing a training course, it is a lifelong process. Thus, the implementation of digital citizenship in education requires a regular assessment and monitoring. Literature Choi, M. (2016) A Concept Analysis of Digital Citizenship for Democratic Citizenship Education in the Internet Age. Theory & Research in Social Education 44(4), pp. 565-607. 174 BOOK REVIEWS Rainie, L., Smith, A., Schlozman, K., Brady, H., and Verba, S. (2012) Social media and political engagement. Washington, DC, USA: Pew Research Center's Internet, & American Life Project. Plamen Mirazchiyski DOI: https://www.doi.org/io.3232o/i58i-6o44.3o(5-6)i7i-i75 Strandbrink, Peter, Civic Education & Liberal democracy: Making PostNormative Citizens in Normative Political Spaces. San Jose: Palgrave Macimillan; Palgrave Studies in Global Citizenship Education and Democracy, 2017. This book aims to deconstruct or at least gradually expose tension in civic and citizenship education. This tension - which is approached from many different angles by authors' empirical, conceptual and normative analysis - seems to be both inherent (conceptually) and (re)produced (inside specific national educational spaces and more generally as an effect of liberal democracies). Inherent, as understood here, is the tension ingrained in concepts themselves: concepts of civics and citizenship, institutionalized education, statehood, knowledge, values and worldview, normativity and lastly (but most importantly) in the concept of pedagogical transferral of knowledge, values and worldviews. In this book, while covering a wide array of topics - one thing remains only briefly unarticulated: the fact that it is not enough to specify values/worldviews, concepts of democracy, liberalism, multiculturalism, tolerance, ... : but to provide (or specify) means (curriculum, syllabus, textbooks, institutions), procedures (ways of pedagogical discourse that enable transferral, including time frames, the age of student subjected to programme) and ends (educational goals, standardized national and international tests) of pedagogical transferral of civic contents. The same goes for ambiguities - conflict and inner conceptual tensions are thus transferred alongside the curricular contents. Inherent tension is, within itself, part of the building blocks for civic and citizenship education. And (re)produced tension is perceived differently because it seems more dependent on narrow historical, national and international context - this "type of tension" is being (re)produced on the level of states and specific educational systems. This tension seems "optional". It arrives from - in the authors opinion - unrealistic expectations of institutionalized education. The perception of the educational system as a "saviour" from backwardness, parochialism, chauvinism and other (undesired) ideologies is not new. These (false) expectations derive from some simple determinants of modern educational systems: the most i175 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXX, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 important being their massiveness and impressive reach. Educational systems process entire generations for decades on end. It is not shocking that states and stakeholders would turn to mandatory education when trying to reproduce/change populations' dispositions. Or as Strandbrink puts it: All kinds of states and governments use education to encourage pupils and citizens to absorb and embrace prevailing values and civic, normative, religious, ideological, and ethical content. As soon as comprehensive systems of public education are established, they provide a primary arena for states' and stakeholders' ambitions /.../ to provide normative, worldview-elaborating instruction intended to inspire allegiance, commitment, cohesion, and a sense of community on a massive scale across populations. (2017, p. vi). Before we move the presented duality in tension forward, it is sensible to present some of the most intriguing observations and argumentations in the book. Even though a significant part of Strandbrink's work oscillates in common-sense topics, he puts great effort into elaborating on trivial presumptions. He also contributes, to some extent, to conceptual flexibility by pushing matters of political and educational theory out of their rightful domiciles. He seems to switch, with no observable effort, between questions of normativity in liberal democratic societies as political spaces and normativity in the educational sense (normative in this case as compared to factual education). Lucid remarks, which are worth mentioning, are not imminently impressive, but create a convincing patchwork of combinations and affiliations: Uneasy ambivalence at the heart of civic-normative education. Uneasy ambivalence as can be observed conceptually or pragmatically is not ground-breaking. But the author goes further than usual narratives of "conceptual dilemmas" like citizenship education vs. patriotic education, embracing national culture vs. promoting multiculturalism or dilemmas leaking out of traditional dichotomies like liberal-conservative, emancipatory-repressive, local-cosmopolitan, national-international, ... (for example Strajn, 2004; Kodelja, 2011) He moves out of this circular solution searching and turns to powerlessness of civic-normative education: even if we solved dilemmas - there is no sustainable way for implementing the "canonized civics and citizenship" into educational processes. Firstly, because state authorities in Strandbrink's opinion do not possess such power over teaching input, processes and contents as they are customarily attributed with. And even if they did - they do not "control" the relation: pedagogical input à pupil/citizen output. In civic and citizenship education, more than in other educational areas, seemingly normative frames tend to 176 BOOK REVIEWS be merged with other educational contents, local contexts, families, peers, other institutions like churches and clubs. All these together mould pupils into "citizens". The merging of influences also decreases the chance of the evaluation of educational work: When it comes to teaching young people which good life to espouse and how to become normatively good and proper citizens/residents of national community, there are no neutral criteria for a priori defining or later evaluating if this goal has been fulfilled, or indeed if fulfilment has been caused by education or other influences... (2017, p. viii). On the same notion: Normative civic education normally flows from a nation state's cultural needs (in Strandbrink's articulation: the normative fabric of society) which entails that more critical, post-national or post-cultural ideals of communal cohabitation are almost impossible to envision in normative education. "Overlooked" selectiveness, out-sourcing of bad values and normative bias. In order to educationally compose pupils into citizens, there must be a factual and value-ridden framework designed into which citizens-to-be are supposed to "enter". Accompanying good lives, desirable values and worldviews, good ideological stances; there also exist bad and undesirable lifestyles, values, worldviews (so educational distinction is possible). In normative civic and citizenship education, this endeavour presents problematic turns on two levels: the first one; how can cosmopolitanism, plurality, diversity and tolerance be pedagogic upon in neutral and normative ways? And the second one: How can a set of good/bad values be selected? The first remark Strandbrink makes is that - no matter the value-set choice - it cannot be neutral and can hardly present itself as such. It is deeply tied to historical, social, national, generational context and can be immensely exclusive to marginalized social groups. In the authors' words: When European states or the European Commission evoke Europe's impressive heritage of good values, there is normally no mention of its shadowy legacy of bad values. It is unnecessary to stretch the imagination very far to realise that Europe, normatively speaking, has a strong track record also of misogyny, colonialism, authoritarianism, exploitation, fascism, racism, /.../ to mention some of the more shadowy traditions that co-contribute to the European ideological and moral legacy. (2017, p. 74). It merely exposes the upsides. The downsides (racism, sexism, slavery and so on) are also generally present in educational curricula, but "always located elsewhere, expelled from and foreign to the properly updated identity of European society and civic culture." (Strandbrink, 2017, p. 74). i177 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXX, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 This naturalized separation of good (European) and bad, volatile, chauvinist (foreign) has some unforeseen consequences: If standard European political thinking (including its thinking on normative education) mainly conveys the upside of divergent European ideational and normative legacies, this will cause much of Europe and a significant part of all Europeans to be symbolically placed outside of the European construct. (2017, p. 75). The elitist notion of civic competence. Strandbrink also briefly considers inequality deeply-seated in the idea of civic and citizenship competencies. Schumpeter (1992, in Strandbrink, 2017) is very explicit when fighting against headless rambling and the infantile reasoning of plebs. This overlook is widely (even if not as abruptly) present in civics and citizenship education. Which is connected to the question of ... ... Deviance and oddness as the backside of normality: Institutionalized normative education is designated to support patterns of normality and deviance, averageness and weirdness. Conditions for reaching normality (even in narrow frames of citizenship education) are different for: a white, middle class, working, educated, democratically-minded, well-articulated Jaka and for a coloured, uneducated, unemployed, narrow-minded and shy Ahmad. Conditions under which different groups live and practice their citizenship are diverse: Depending on your cultural, ethical, confessional, social, economic, and educational position, you will be responded to and accommodated differently even by such common core principles like liberty and human dignity. (2017, p. 87). Elaboration of distinction between maximalist and minimalist conceptualizations of civic and citizenship education. These conceptualizations, rivalling in Europe, entail either a more factual and thin citizenship package (knowledge of institutions, rights and obligations) and a thicker one (involving in democratic deliberation, the idea of active citizenship). Even though this duality is not in itself very conceptually promising, Strandbrink manages to elaborate gracefully. "Thickly" nurtured pupils have to become civically active and are supposed to participate in communal life to be a proper citizen. How do they do that? How much activism is just enough - overboard activism entails radicalism and minimal activism entails passive, undecided (non)citizen. There is a narrow "activity arena" that is appropriate and designated to civic-deliberation - the area is designed for the reproduction of liberal democratic dispositions, but is fenced at prox- 178 BOOK REVIEWS imities: where activism could become terrorism and where a lack of activism could become passivity endangering liberal democratic scenery. These speculations bring us to closing remarks: In the model of the active universal citizen, there are condensed all fore-mentioned dilemmas, normative agendas and (re)production paths of making/remaking citizens of liberal democracies. Civic and citizenship education in normative political spaces is (to unite unaptly separated notions of inherent/(re) produced tension from the beginning of the review) - inherently reproductive. It also "involves" numerous "compressed ambiguities" in universal citizen -the imagined product of normative civic education. Compressed ambiguities derive from second-order concepts scattered (almost) randomly across the curriculum. Second-order concepts (solidarity, equality, justice, allegiance, tolerance, respect) as Strandbrink defines them, are glued to more fundamental conceptions: their function in identity formation is that of adjectives. Fundamental concepts or first-order concepts are more comprehensive and deeply collectively embedded - usually rooted in religion, nationality or political belonging. Impotency of the educational system in civic and citizenship matters is double-layered: first, it arrives from the inherent impossibility of regulating educational input and output. And secondly, it is connected to second-order conceptual patchwork present in attempts to construe normative civic and citizenship education. For now, its primary role is "negative" - sustaining the normative zero. Here, we can again picture a modelled active citizen, designed to behave civically, to vote regularly, to act respectfully, to decide wisely and to deliberate when appropriate. This citizen is democratically sensible, humanitarian (but not excessively), tolerant and open-minded but aware of their roots, the importance of traditional values and social cohesion. Any swing in passivity or radicalism, into carelessness or heated political beliefs is prevented by normative civic education. Any leap into ignorance of public matters or into reckless activism, anarchism, fascism, loud voicing of concerns (may it be boycotting the Israeli national orchestra, squatting on oil platforms or loudly opposing burkinis in a thermal spa) is strongly discouraged and instantly regulated. Literature Kodelja, Z. (2011) Is education for patriotism morally required, permitted or unacceptable? Studies in Philosophy and Education 30(2), pp. 127-140. Štrajn, D. (2004) Politika vzgoje identitete in razlike. Šolsko polje 15(1-2), pp. 85-94. Lucija Klun DOI: https://www.doi.org/io.3232o/i58i-6o443o(5-6)i75-i79 i179 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXX, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 Minnix, Christopher, Rhetoric and the Global Turn in Higher Education. San Jose: Palgrave Macimillan, 2018. An extensive study of the role of rhetorical education within global higher education in the USA (225 pages), in dialogue with a wide range of complementary theory and research (over 230 bibliographical units), Rhetoric and the Global Turn in Higher Education is a comprehensive monograph built upon an appreciation of a strong bond between rhetorical education and power relations. Between the five-page preface and seven-page index there are six chapters, with titles that disclose much about the book's scope and general orientation: 1. Rhetorical Education and Global Higher Education in an Age of Precarity 2. Global Higher Education and the Production of Global Citizenship 3. Making Room for Rhetorical Education in the Global Curriculum 4. Seeing Precarity: Rhetorical Citizenship, Global Images, and Rhetorical Ethics in the Global Classroom 5. Dwelling in the Global: Rhetorical Education, Transnational Rhetorical Ecologies, and the Locations of the Global 6. Conclusion: Rhetorical Education and the Local Production of Global Higher Education The monograph's thesis revolves around the fact that - despite official claims to the contrary - rhetorical education in the (undergraduate) curriculum remains marginalised.1 Minnix presents the reasons why rhetorical educators should feel challenged to address the issue. In the context of global education he argues against "the vagueness of global citizenship" and in favour of "the role of rhetorical education in fostering (...) transnational rhetorical citizenship' (Minnix, 2018, p. 5), and against viewing global higher education as a neutral movement, but rather as a site of conflict between competing ideologies and political interests. He sheds light on the specifics of this ideological conflict within the right-left political continuum in the USA. In the second chapter, the author is concerned primarily with the development of global higher education in the USA after the signing of the 1958 National Defence Act (NDEA). Interested in the ideological underpinnings of programmes that aim to internationalise university curricula, he illustrates different ways in which these programmes influence/change 1 It is safe to say that this is so everywhere, not only in the USA (cf. Abrami et al. 2008; Ak-erman and Neal 2011, Orlowsky 2011; Zelježič, 2016; Zagar et al. 2018) - which makes the text resonate with readers worldwide. 180 BOOK REVIEWS the discourse of contemporary global education in America, and define the ambiguous roles American college students are expected to adopt as global citizens. Minnix contends that the prevalent attitude towards global education/citizenship tends to naturalise a discourse that creates untenable affinities between stakeholders as disparate as "academia, the corporate world, the intelligence industry, and the military" (ibid., p. 38), inevitably defining students (as global citizens) in contradictory and conflicting ways: as individuals who promote the spirit of general respect and cosmopolitan tolerance, but also as individuals acting as economic ambassadors of the USA and safeguarding conspicuously American political interests. He warns against this authority of ethics over politics in global education because it runs the risk of both being easily co-opted by other discourses and obscuring concrete strategies of political education, including rhetorical education2 (ibid., p. 44). In the Cold War period, students and scholars were supposed to "export democracy" (ibid., p. 47), while the post 9/11 climate has given impetus to more nationalist conceptions of global education. One of Minnix' most notable contentions is indebted to Judith Butler's insights into the blind spots of multiculturalism (and, by extension, global citizenship), in particular to her understanding of interdependen-cy and precarity. Echoing her reasoning, he argues that "global higher education can be and has been framed by frames of war and frames of capital that create rather than ameliorate conditions of global precarity or 'precarious life'." (ibid., p. 39) And here lies the challenge and opportunity of rhetorical education: it can teach people how to critique these exclusionary frames. The author suggests that such a shift in global education programmes would, appropriately, direct attention to the conditions of power that determine visions (and forms) of citizenship, questioning the political motives behind them. Conscious of the fact that access to participation in public discourse alone does not build rhetorical competence and agency, Minnix argues for a robust rhetorical education. Relying on a vast body of relevant research and legacy of eminent intellectuals (such as, for instance, Atwill, Arendt, Butler, Foucault, Giroux, Negri, Spivak), his discussion of transnational rhetorical education in a globalised world is anything but under-the- 2 In the subchapter DreamersAdrift and the Awkwardness of Citizenship" he provides most telling examples of how exclusivity of normative citizenship can be perpetuated by discourses of inclusivity and political awareness (ibid., pp. 116-123). i181 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXX, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 orised. He also gives due consideration to criticism from the political right. However, focused on a meticulous, in-depth analysis, he succumbs at times to excessive repetitiveness: leading up to already sufficiently developed conclusions, he sometimes addresses virtually the same issues, repeating virtually the same arguments. Another element of Minnix's writing that calls for a critical response has to do with the pedagogical aspects of the project: he either avoids them or addresses them rather superficially. His concept of transnational rhetorical citizenship presupposes rhetorical educators who are capable of both analysing normative visions of (global) citizenship and providing their students with the knowledge, tools and tactics to do the same. On the other hand, he is well aware of the problem of non-existent methodology and in touch with his own insecurities as a rhetorical educator, and he manages to turn these weaknesses into challenges by assuming an attitude of categorical openness: rather than encouraging the pursuit of ideal models, he employs different compensatory moves, adopting critical approaches to different features of transnational rhetorical education: - He suggests that rhetorical educators should "claim space in the global curriculum" together with communication and composition studies teachers and researchers, for the three fields share sufficient overlap to make joining forces effective. - He defines more specific goals of rhetorical education for transnational rhetorical citizenship (ibid., p. 95, 96), juxtaposing them against vaguely defined communication skills in the context of global higher education (ibid., p. 94). - Throughout the book, he draws our attention to relevant/critical questions that should guide the process of designing rhetorical education programmes. - The last three chapters in particular present a few courses/projects that provided students with opportunities to learn about specific, politically engaged, rhetorical practices. Admittedly, these examples do not make much difference at the level of broad curricular changes, but they are, nevertheless, the invaluable inspiration for rhetorical educators. - He dives into the issues of rhetorical ethics and rhetorical ecologies. Along the same lines, Chapter 4 scrutinizes digital media and global images (of human suffering), wondering about how to teach civic participation to digital natives/cosmopolitans, who appreciate international connectivity but lack an understanding of ways in which (digital) media shape our sensitivities and perceptions, and of how what Butler calls per- 182 BOOK REVIEWS ceptible reality gets established. (ibid., p. 142) The author claims that to go against what Fleckenstein calls visual habits and rhetorical habits (ibid., p. 147), students need to be immersed not only in processes of analysis but also in processes of performance. (ibid., p. 153) He gives a practical example of his own class assignment on the topic of global poverty, which he used as an introduction into a discussion of transnational rhetorical citizenship and spectatorship. It sounds as though Minnix made his students recognize and question the rationale behind the exclusionary politics the images/photos testified to, and the emotional response they were intended to provoke. However, the actual depth and thoroughness of their analysis, as well as what guidelines/criteria he used in assessing their work and providing feedback is not specified. Chapter 5 is more valuable to rhetorical educators in this respect. It focuses on how to make students view the relationship between the global and the local as porous and interpenetrating, describing how he succeeded in pushing students beyond simplistic and uncritical celebrations of diversity in his own advanced composition class, articulating most revealing examples. In many ways, the last chapter is a succinct summary of the monograph: in higher education documents and initiatives in the USA (as well as globally) sophisticated communication/rhetorical skills are generally stated as educational goals that are pursued across different disciplines. It turns out, however, that rhetorical education is not given much attention in the global curriculum, and that students remain ill-equipped to engage in agonistic democratic practices, not really capable of recognising and responding to the policies and conditions created and reproduced by the power structures. Underlying the importance of collaborative work, the author calls upon rhetorical educators to forge alliances both in the disciplines (with colleagues in rhetorics, composition and communication) and against the disciplines (with colleagues from diverse disciplines) in order to reframe the role of rhetorics in global higher education along the lines of "agonistically engaging discourses, ideologies and pedagogies of global higher education" (ibid., p. 197). Inevitably, such rhetorical education has very little to do with the impoverished understanding of communication skills rampant in higher education environments. As a matter of fact, it perhaps sounds rather utopian. Yet I believe it is precisely Minnix's insistence on institutional analysis, on a rigorous theoretical basis, and on posing the right kind of questions rather than providing ideal pedagogical responses that make this monograph a most valuable contribution to the ongoing debate about rhetorical instruction in the context of the global turn in (higher) education. i183 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXX, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 References Abrami, P. C., Bernard, R. M., Borokhovski, E., Wade, A., Surkes, M. A., Tamim, R., and Zhang, D. (2008) Instructional Interventions Affecting Critical Thinking Skills and Dispositions: A Stage 1 Meta-Anal-ysis. Review of Educational Research 78(4), pp. 1102-1134. https://doi. org/10.3102/0034654308326084 Akerman, R., Neale, I. (2011) Debating the evidence: an international review of current situation and perceptions. The English Speaking Union. http://debate.uvm.edu/dcpdf/ESU_Report_debatingtheevidence_FI-NAL.pdf (27. 11. 2019). Minnix, C. (2018) Rhetoric and the Global Turn in Higher Education. Palgrave Macmillan. Orlowski, P. (2011) Teaching About Hegemony. Canada: Springer. Žagar Ž, I., Žmavc, J., and Domajnko, B. (2018) Učitelj kot retorik: re- torično-argumentativni vidiki pedagoškega diskurza, Ljubljana: Pedagoški inštitut. Želježič, M. (2016) Poučevanje in ocenjevanje govorne zmožnosti v angleščini kot tujem jeziku v luči ideološke funkcije izobraževalnega sistema: doctoral dissertation. Univerza v Ljubljani: Filozofska fakulteta. Mirjana Želježič DOI: https://www.doi.org/io.3232o/i58i-6o44.3o(5-6)i8o-i84 184 Povzetki/Abstracts Ines Elezovic CIVIC AND CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA: 20 YEARS OF IMPLEMENTATION Twenty years after the first Civic and Citizenship Education programme emerged in the Republic of Croatia, although data-based and comprehensive debates on its implementation, monitoring and cycles of improving CCE curriculum were never organized, this area of education is no longer being widely discussed. CCE is implemented and thought of as a cross-curricular interdisciplinary theme in all grades and subjects of the ISCED levels 1 to 3. In general, most of the recent research, both with school students and the youth in Croatia, showed a lack of in-depth knowledge of civic and citizenship contents, democratic attitudes and active engagement. At the same time students showed interest towards this subject area and a willingness to participate in more interactive and openelessons (Spajic-Vrkas, 2015) and developed highly positive views towards the EU and the European dimension (Losito et al., 2018). The first attempt of the independent CCE curriculum (2012) had four cycles, three functional dimensions - knowledge and understanding, skills and competences, attitudes and values - and six structural dimensions: culture, ecology, economy, human rights, politics and society. This multifaceted approach was abandoned in favour of a more simplistic structure and content focused on only three areas - human rights, democracy and social community - in the current valid programme (Ministry of Science and Education, 2019). At the same time, teacher preparation programmes and 185 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXX, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 professional development trainings have not seen substantial and systematic reform, or even changed sufficiently to prepare the majority of teachers for recent developments and provide enough methodological, but also subject matter, knowledge for them to tackle seven obligatory cross-cur-ricular themes. On the other hand, for those individuals willing to specialize and professionally develop within the particular theme, there was enough time and material to accomplish those goals but critics have pointed out that serious reform processes cannot lean too heavily on personal strengths and preferences but should be institutionally encouraged and supported in a standardised and consistent manner. Within the current reform which had started in 2015 and restarted in 2018, all curriculums in ISCED levels 0 to 3 have undergone revisions and teachers are somewhat overwhelmed with additional new tasks, so it is to be expected that delivering high-quality CCE will not be their first priority in the upcoming period. Keywords: educational policy & reforms, teacher training, CCE, student attitudes DRŽAVLJANSKA VZGOJA IN IZOBRAŽEVANJE V REPUBLIKI HRVAŠKI: 20 LET IMPLEMENTACIJE Dvajset let po tem, ko se je v Republiki Hrvaški pojavil prvi program državljanske vzgoje in izobraževanja, o tem področju ni več veliko govora, čeprav razprav na podlagi podatkov in celovitih razprav o implemetaci-ji, spremljanju in ciklih izboljševanja učnih načrtov državljanske vzgoje ni bilo nikoli. Državljanska vzgoja je implementirana kot medpredmetna tema v vseh razredih in predmetih od ISCED nivoja 1 do 3. Na splošno je večina nedavnih raziskav, tako s šolarji kot z mladino, na Hrvaškem pokazala pomanjkanje poglobljenega znanja o državljanskih vsebinah, demokratičnih stališčih in aktivnem udejstvovanju. Šolarji so hkrati pokazali zanimanje za to področje in pripravljenost za sodelovanje v bolj interaktivnih in odprtih učnih urah (Spajic-Vrkaš, 2015) ter razvili zelo pozitivne poglede na EU in evropsko razsežnost (Losito et al., 2018). Prvi poskus samostojnega učnega načrta za državljansko vzgojo (2012) je imel štiri cikle, tri funkcionalne dimenzije - znanje in razumevanje, spretnosti in kompe-tence, stališča in vrednote - in šest strukturnih razsežnosti: kultura, ekologija, gospodarstvo, človekove pravice, politika in družba. Ta večplastni pristop je bil opuščen v prid bolj poenostavljene strukture in vsebine, ki je v trenutno veljavnem programu (Ministrstry of Science and Education, 2019) usmerjeno le na tri področja - na človekove pravice, demokracijo in družbeno skupnost. Hkrati programi za pripravo učiteljev in usposabljanja za poklicni razvoj niso bili deležni bistvene in sistematične reforme ali 186 POVZETKI ■ ABSTRACTS celo dovolj spremenjeni, da bi večini učiteljev omogočili nedavni razvoj in zagotovili dovolj metodoloških in vsebinskih znanj, da bi se lotili sedmih obveznih medpredmetnih tem. Po drugi strani pa je bilo za tiste, ki so se želeli specializirati in se profesionalno razvijati v določeni temi, na voljo dovolj časa in materiala za uresničitev teh ciljev, vendar so kritiki opozorili, da resni reformni procesi ne morejo biti preveč odvisni od osebnih preferenc, ampak bi morali biti institucionalno spodbujani in podprti na standardiziran in stalen način. V okviru sedanje reforme, ki se je začela leta 2015 in nato ponovno leta 2018, so revizije prestali vsi učni načrti na ISCED nivoju 0 do 3, a menimo, da so učitelji nekoliko preobremenjeni z novimi nalogami, zato je pričakovati, da zagotavljanje visokokakovostne državljanske vzgoje ne bo njihova prva prioriteta v prihajajočem obdobju. Ključne besede: izobraževalne politike in reforme, usposabljanje učiteljev, državljanska vzgoja, stališča učencev Marinko Banjac KNOWLEDGE ON POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AMONG BASIC SCHOOL PUPILS: A LOOK AT THE RESULTS FROM THE NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF KNOWLEDGE IN THE COURSE PATRIOTIC AND CITIZENSHIP CULTURE AND ETHICS IN THE 2018/2019 SCHOOL YEAR At a time when young people's lack of interest in politics is an ongoing problem, citizenship education is an important framework for improving the youth's political literacy and the promotion of political participation among them. The article addresses the position of political participation as a topic in the Slovenian education system and specifically within the compulsory basic school subject Patriotic and civic culture and ethics. It offers a critical reflection on the various theoretical contributions to the understanding of the role of citizenship education (especially within formal education) in delivering political literacy and knowledge to pupils about political participation. The article also presents how citizenship education is systematized within the Slovenian formal education system and reflects how political participation is addressed and presented in relevant documents, such as the White paper on education in the Republic of Slovenia. One of the findings is that the White paper not only expresses the need for strategic inclusion of political participation as a topic within education in general, but also identifies students' political literacy as an objective to change the widespread negative portrayal of the political that exists within Slovenian society. The article also analyses the knowledge of Year 9 Slovene basic school pupils on political participation. To this end, 187 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXX, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 it interprets pupils' achievements (n = 3849) in selected questions from the National Assessment of Knowledge (NAK) in Patriotic and Citizenship Culture and Ethics subject. The NAK is a special assessment of knowledge procedure within the formal education system, in which all pupils (Year 6 and 9) in the country, on the same day, complete the same tests under the same conditions. Student achievement scores (n = 3849) for the questions covering the topic of political participation show that they are very familiar with the basic rules and norms of democratic participation, but they show less knowledge of the effects of participation in elections. The results also show that they are only partially aware or able to explain unconventional forms ofpolitical participation, but at the same time demonstrate the ability to plan a democratic decision-making process in a group such as the school class. Keywords: citizenship education, political participation, national assessment of knowledge, basic school ZNANJA O POLITIČNI PARTICIPACIJI PRI OSNOVNOŠOLCIH: POGLED NA REZULTATE NACIONALNEGA PREVERJANJA ZNANJA PRI PREDMETU DOMOVINSKA IN DRŽAVLJANSKA KULTURA TER ETIKA V ŠOLSKEM LETU 2018/2019 Državljanska vzgoja je v času, ko je nezainteresiranost mladih za politiko stalen problem, pomemben okvir političnega opismenjevanja in spodbujanja politične participacije. Članek naslavlja položaj politične participacije v okviru državljanske vzgoje v slovenskem izobraževalnem sistemu in v okviru predmeta Domovinska in državljanska kultura in etika. V ta namen kritično reflektira različne teoretične prispevke k razumevanju vloge državljanske vzgoje (zlasti v okviru formalnega izobraževanja) pri zagotavljanju politične pismenosti in znanja učencev o politični participaciji. V prispevku je predstavljeno tudi umeščanje državljanske vzgoje v slovenskem formalnem izobraževalnem sistemu in kako je politična participacija obravnavana ter predstavljena v relevantnih dokumentih, kot je Bela knjiga o šolstvu v Republiki Sloveniji. Ena od ugotovitev je, da Bela knjiga ne izraža le potrebe po strateški vključitvi politične participacije kot teme v izobraževanje nasploh, ampak tudi opredeljuje politično pismenost študentov kot cilj za spreminjanje v slovenski družbi razširjene negativne podobe političnega. Prispevek prav tako analizira znanje slovenskih osnovnošolcev devetega razreda o politični participaciji. V ta namen motri dosežke učencev ^=3849) pri izbranih vprašanjih iz Nacionalnega preverjanja znanja (NPZ) iz predmeta o Domovinski in državljanski kulturi in etiki. NPZ je poseben postopek preverjanja znanja v okviru slovenskega formalnega izobraževalnega sistema, v katerem vsi učenci (6. in 9. ra- 188 POVZETKI ■ ABSTRACTS zreda) v državi v istem dnevu pod enakimi pogoji opravljajo iste preizkuse. Dosežki učencev ^=3849) pri vprašanjih, ki so preverjala znanje glede tematike politične participacije, kažejo, da zelo dobro poznajo temeljna pravila in norme demokratične participacije, vendar izkazujejo slabše poznavanje učinkov sodelovanja na volitvah. Rezultati kažejo tudi, da le delno poznajo oziroma znajo razložiti nekonvencionalne oblike politične participacije, vendar hkrati izkazujejo sposobnost načrtovanja procesa demokratičnega odločanja v skupini, kot je šolski razred. Ključne besede: državljanska vzgoja, politična participacija, nacionalno preverjanje znanja, osnovna šola Mojca Rožman, Diego Cortés EXPECTED POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AND DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES IN EUROPE In this paper, we investigate whether the recent immigration-related demographic change in Europe can be associated with changes in expected political participation of young adults. For this, we rely on three independent data sources from 12 EU-member countries. To capture young adults' expected political participation, we rely on data from the International Civic and Citizenship Study (ICCS) conducted in 2009 and 2016. Moreover, we use data compiled by Eurostat, which captures the number of asylum applications that were lodged in each of the selected countries. Finally, we use data on national voter turnout as reported by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. We find that the change in expected electoral participation of students is associated with the number of asylum applications within a country. To gather some evidence that the self-reported data from students reflect society and societal changes, we examine the relationship between expected voting participation and the actual voter turnouts in a country. We find a positive association between these two variables. Our results point to the conclusion that there is an association between the recent migration movements in Europe and the increased political participation in countries. This association is reflected in students and their expectations for future civic and political engagement. Keywords: electoral turnouts, political participation, ICCS, demographic changes 189 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXX, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 PRIČAKOVANA POLITIČNA PARTICIPACIJA IN DEMOGRAFSKE SPREMEMBE V EVROPI V tem prispevku preučujemo, ali so nedavne demografske spremembe v Evropi (predvsem priseljevanje) povezane s spremembami v pričakovani politični udeležbi mladih. Opiramo se na tri neodvisne vire podatkov za 12 držav članic Evropske unije. Ocene o pričakovani politični udeležbi mladih izhajajo iz podatkov Mednarodne raziskave državljanske vzgoje in izobraževanja (ICCS), ki je bila izvedena v letih 2009 in 2016. Poleg tega uporabljamo podatke, ki jih je zbral Eurostat o številu prošenj za azil, ki so bile vložene med 2014 in 2018 v vsaki od izbranih držav. Opiramo se tudi na podatke o nacionalni volilni udeležbi, ki jih poroča Mednarodni inštitut za demokracijo in volilno pomoč. Rezultati kažejo, da je sprememba v pričakovani volilni udeležbi učencev povezana s številom vloženih prošenj za azil v izbranih državah. Da bi preverili, ali poročanje učencev odraža stanje v družbi in družbene spremembe, smo analizirali odnos med pričakovano udeležbo na volitvah in dejansko volilno udeležbo v državah. Ugotovili smo, da sta ti dve spremenljivki pozitivno povezani. Naši rezultati nakazujejo, da obstaja povezava med nedavnimi migracijskimi tokovi v Evropi in večjo politično udeležbo v državah. Ta povezava se odraža tudi na učencih in njihovih pričakovanjih o političnem udejstvovanju v prihodnosti. Ključne besede: volilna udeležba, politična participacija, ICCS, demografske spremembe Spela Javor nik, Plamen Mirazchiyski and Nada Trunk Sirca BULLYING OF EIGHTH GRADERS IN SLOVENIAN PRIMARY SCHOOLS (SECONDARY ANALYSIS OF ICCS 2016) Bullying in school is a worldwide issue. It is related to many harmful things like emotional, behavioral and health problems and it can also affect a student's academic achievement. The study researches the bullying of eighth graders in Slovenian schools, the frequency of being bullied, the relationship with socioeconomic status (SES) and also the association of bullying with other background and contextual factors. The study uses data from the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) 2016, conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievements (IEA). The study used regression analysis to test if students with lower SES are more frequently exposed to peer violence than the ones with higher SES. In further analysis, the study also tests the relationship between others factors such as family background and bullying as well as the association between bullying and different contextual 190 POVZETKI ■ ABSTRACTS variables. The last part of the analysis is a multiple linear regression, used in order to test the relationship between bullied students and the groups of variables that have been shown to have the most measures related to school bullying. There are different forms of bullying and, with some of them Slovenia, measures above average in comparison to other participating countries in ICCS 2016. Although previous studies have reported that bullying in school and SES are linked, our analysis did not show the expected association. Additionally, the study found that the relationship between the level of a student's civic knowledge and bullying in schools to such an extent that we can assume that those students who score higher in civic knowledge proficiency tests tend to be less often bullied in school. The results from the multiple linear regression showed that all of the variables that remained statistically significant after applying controls for each one of the remaining variables, are related to student participation. So we can assume that increasing student participation can be one of the factors that can help lower the frequency of bullying. Keywords: Bullying, school, ICCS, background variables, contextual variables MEDVRSTNIŠKO NASILJE MED OSMOŠOLCI V SLOVENSKIH OSNOVNIH ŠOLAH (SEKUNDARNA ANALIZA ICCS 2016) Medvrstniško nasilje v šoli je povsod po svetu pereč problem. Povezuje se z negativnimi čustvenimi in vedenjskimi posledicami, »vpliva« tudi na zdravje ter na akademske dosežke učencev. Ta študija raziskuje medvrstniško nasilje v osmih razredih osnovnih šol v Sloveniji, in sicer pogostost trpinčenja, povezanost s socialnoekonomskim statusom (SES) in povezavo medvrstniškega nasilja z različnimi drugimi ozadenjskimi in kontekstu-alnimi dejavniki. Študija uporablja podatke iz Mednarodne raziskave o državljanski vzgoji in izobraževanju (ICCS) 2016, ki jo koordinira Mednarodno združenje za evalvacijo izobraževalnih dosežkov (IEA). V tej študiji je bila opravljena regresijska analiza, da bi preverili, ali so učenci z nižjim SES pogosteje izpostavljeni medvrstniškemu nasilju, kot tisti z višjim SES. V nadaljevanju študije se testira tudi povezavo med drugimi dejavniki družinskega ozadja in medvrstniškim nasiljem ter povezanost med medvrstniškim nasiljem in različnimi kontekstualnimi spremenljivkami. Zadnji del analize je multipla linearna regresija, s katero študija preverja povezavo med učenci, ki so žrtve medvrstniškega nasilja v šoli in skupinami spremenljivk, ki ostajajo statistično značilne tudi po kontroliranju za vsako od preostalih spremenljivk. V Sloveniji obstajajo različne oblike nasilja v šolah in v primerjavi z drugimi državami, ki so sodelovale v ICCS 2016, je Slovenija nad povprečjem pri poročanju nekaterih 191 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXX, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 izmed oblik medvrstniškega nasilja. Čeprav so prejšnje raziskave poročale o povezanosti medvrstniškega nasilja v šoli z SES učencev, naša analiza ni pokazala pričakovane povezanosti. Pokazala pa se je povezanost med stopnjo državljanske vednosti učencev in medvrstniškim nasiljem v šolah, zato lahko domnevamo, da so učenci, ki dosegajo boljše rezultate pri testiranju državljanskega znanja, v šoli manj pogosto nadlegovani. Rezultati multiple linearne regresije so pokazali, da so vse spremenljivke, ki ostanejo statistično značilne tudi po testiranju z vsako od preostalih spremenljivk, povezane s participacijo učencev. Iz tega lahko predvidevamo, da je lahko povečana participacija učencev v šolah eden od dejavnikov, ki bi lahko pripomogel k zmanjšanju pogostosti medvrstniškega nasilja. Ključne besede: Medvrstniško nasilje, šola, ICCS, spremenljivke ozaden-jskih podatkov, kontekstualne spremenljivke Foteini Egglezou DEBATE AT THE EDGE OF CRITICAL PEDAGOGY AND RHETORICAL PAIDEIA. CULTIVATING ACTIVE CITIZENS The aim of the paper is to emphasize the role of debate regarding the intellectual, social and political emancipation of students as future active citizens through the examination of two, distant in time but still modern pedagogical approaches, which emphatically underline the need as well as the possibility of students' empowerment both as individuals and citizens: rhetorical paideia and critical pedagogy. After the presentation of the main historical framework of both pedagogical approaches, we will try to answer the question whether debate, as educational practice, can guarantee a reliable correlation between the educational goals of rhetorical paideia and critical pedagogy for cultivating active citizens. The main questions that lead our research to its final conclusions are: a) if and to what extent can debate transform pedagogical practice in political praxis within the context of critical pedagogy, b) the affinity between debate and the cultivation of critical citizenry, c) the role of rhetorical paideia, in general, and of debate, in particular, within the modern educational context for the formation of active, responsible, critical thinkers and democratic citizens and, last but not least, d) the role of educators concerning students' familiarization with the pedagogical and didactic practice of debate. Our theoretical research reveals points of convergence and points of divergence with regards to the way in which debate is approached through the prism of rhetorical paideia and of critical pedagogy, which are mainly due to debate's agonistic nature. The acceptance of debate as agon permeates our research and brings upon various epistemic, philosophical, ideolog- 192 POVZETKI ■ ABSTRACTS ical and socio-cultural aspects and theories concerning its use, while it problematizes the political education of modern students as active citizens through it. Our firm conviction is that the awareness of all the above parameters is necessary to every teacher who decides to be engaged (or not) with debate within the context of teaching practice for cultivating active citizens. Keywords: agon, debate, active citizenry, critical pedagogy, rhetorical paideia DEBATA NA STIČIŠČU KRITIČNE PEDAGOGIKE IN RETORIČNE PAIDEIE: VZGOJA AKTIVNIH DRŽAVLJANOV Namen prispevka je pokazati na vlogo debate pri intelektualni, družbeni in politični emancipaciji dijakov kot prihodnjih aktivnih državljanov skozi pretres dveh zelo starih, a še vedno sodobnih pedagoških pristopov: retorične paideie in kritične pedagogike. Oba namreč poudarjeno naslavljata potrebo in možnost opolnomočenja dijakov kot posameznikov in državljanov. Po predstavitvi historičnega okvira obeh pristopov bomo skušali odgovoriti na temeljno vprašanje, ali debata kot izobraževalna praksa lahko zagotovi zanesljivo povezavo med izobraževalnimi cilji retorične paideie in kritične pedagogike za vzgojo aktivnih državljanov. V ta namen si v prispevku zastavljamo več vprašanj: a) ali in do kakšne mere debata lahko spremeni pedagoško prakso in politično praxis v kontekstu kritične pedagogike; b) ali obstaja sorodnost med debato in kultiviranjem kritičnega državljanstva; c) kakšna je vloga retorične paideie (na sploh) in debate v kontekstu izobraževanja za aktivne, odgovorne, kritično misleče in demokratične državljane in d) kakšno vlogo imajo učitelji pri seznanjanju učencev s pedagoško-didaktično prakso debate. V teoretičnem raziskovanju pokažemo na točke srečevanja in razhajanja glede načina obravnave debate skozi prizmo retorične paideie in kritične pedagogike, ki so v glavnem posledica agonistične narave debate. Razumevanje debate kot agona, ki prežema naše raziskovanje, pripelje do različnih epistemskih, filozofskih, ideoloških in socio-kulturnih vidikov ter teorij o njeni uporabi, hkrati pa s tem problematizira politično vzgojo sodobnih študentov kot aktivnih državljanov. Naše trdno prepričanje je, da bi se učitelji, ki se odločijo (ali ne) za debato kot pedagoško prakso za vzgajanje aktivnih državljanov, morali zavedati zgornjih parametrov. Ključne besede: agon, debata, aktivno državljanstvo, kritična pedagogika, retorična paideia 193 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXX, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 Petra Aczél A ROAD TO RHETORICA: TEACHING RHETORIC AS SOCIAL SENSITIVITY AND BEHAVIOUR Rhetoric has been struggling for its academic and educational position and credibility for several decades. The uniquely long, though turbulent history of the ancient faculty - with fatal and more flourishing periods - has proven that rhetoric has the stamina to remain a discipline that provides us with invigorating educational goals regarding the communicator as a social persona. The present paper aims to introduce the definition of rhetoric as the study of social sensitivity and behaviour. By addressing the state of rhetoric, it highlights the challenges that call for such reconceptualization. Revising the presently domineering Hungarian and Central-European educational practices of rhetoric, I endeavour to provide a new teaching program that has rhetorical sensitivity in its focus. A three-layered structure of teaching rhetoric is outlined that could be applied to any level of education. These three layers respectively address skills that are said to be most in need in the upcoming years of automatization and robotization, that is, critical thinking, creativity and connecting/debating with others. Grounding this new frame and program -which echoes the very ancient view of rhetoric as the universal science of public life - the essay wishes to serve as a contribution to the renewal of teaching rhetorical literacy. Key words: rhetorical sensitivity, social behaviour, critical thinking, creativity, debate POT DO RETORIKE: POUČEVANJE RETORIKE KOT DRUŽBENE OBČUTLJIVOSTI IN VEDENJA Retorika se že desetletja bori za ustrezen akademski in izobraževalni položaj ter verodostojnost. Izjemno dolga zgodovina starodavne veščine kljub burnosti - tako usodnih kot cvetočih obdobij - dokazuje trdnost retorike, da ostane disciplina, ki nam zagotavlja zanimive izobraževalne cilje, povezane s sporočevalcem kot družbeno osebo. Namen prispevka je vpeljati definicijo retorike kot preučevanje družbene občutljivosti in vedenja. V prikazu stanja retorike izpostavljamo izzive, ki zahtevajo takšno rekon-ceptualizacijo. Ob reviziji trenutno prevladujočih madžarskih in srednjeevropskih izobraževalnih praks na področju retorike predstavljamo nov izobraževalni program, ki se osredinja na retorično občutljivost in temelji na triplastni strukturi poučevanja retorike, ki jo je mogoče uporabiti na kateri koli stopnji izobraževanja. V okviru predlagane strukture so zastopane ključne veščine, ki naj bi jih v prihodnjih letih avtomatizacije in ro- 194 POVZETKI ■ ABSTRACTS botizacije najbolj potrebovali, torej kritično razmišljanje, ustvarjalnost in povezovanje/razpravljanje z drugimi. Na podlagi novega okvira in programa - v njem odzvanja starodavni pogled na retoriko kot univerzalno znanost javnega življenja - želimo s pričujočim besedilom prispevati k prenovi poučevanja retorične pismenosti. Ključne besede: retorična občutljivost, družbeno vedenje, kritično mišljenje, ustvarjalnost, debata Igor Ž. Žagar SLOVENIAN EXPERIENCE WITH RHETORIC IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS In the 2000/01 school year, the Republic of Slovenia introduced Rhetoric as a compulsory elective subject in Slovenian primary schools (compulsory elective meaning that all primary schools - more than 400 in Slovenia - have to offer it to their pupils). The author of this paper was the main author of the syllabus and the editor of the textbook. The aim of this paper is to explain how the syllabus was structured, and why and how the in-service training was performed (since there was no "official" higher education programme for future teachers of rhetoric), how the teaching took place, what worked and what didn't, where and what were the problems for the pupils as well as for the teachers. These findings now serve as the basis for the revision of the syllabus, as well as for the introduction of rhetoric into secondary schools. Key words: rhetoric, argumentation, teaching of rhetoric, didactics, Slovenian primary schools, syllabus, compulsory elective. SLOVENSKA IZKUŠNJA Z RETORIKO V OSNOVNI ŠOLI V šolskem letu 2000/01 je Republika Slovenija v osnovne šole uvedla Retoriko kot obvezni izbirni predmet (pri čemer »obvezni izbirni predmet« pomeni, da ga morajo vse osnovne šole - v Sloveniji jih je preko 400 - ponuditi svojim učencem in učenkam). Avtor tega članka je bil glavni avtor učnega načrta in urednik učbenika. Namen tega članka je razložiti, kako in zakaj je bil strukturiran učni načrt, kako je potekalo interno usposabljanje (glede na to, da ni bilo na voljo nobenega visokošolskega programa za prihodnje učitelje in učiteljice retorike), kako je potekalo poučevanje, kaj je »delovalo« in kaj ne, kje in kaj so bili največji problemi za učence in učenke, kakor tudi za učitelje in učiteljice. Te ugotovitve zdaj služijo kot osnova za revizijo učnega načrta, kakor tudi za vpeljavo retorike v srednje šole. Ključne besede: retorika, argumentacija, poučevanje retorike, didaktika, slovenske osnovne šole, učni načrt, obvezno izbirno. 195 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXX, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 Mojca Cestnik EXPERIENCES IN TEACHING RHETORIC AS AN ELECTIVE COURSE IN PRIMARY SCHOOL In this article, the author presents her 16 years of experience in teaching rhetoric in primary school. She describes didactic challenges and then presents why it is necessary to teach this course in primary school. She also presents how the rhetoric teacher can help other teachers with their knowledge, enable better collaboration with teachers from the first to the ninth grade and help unify the standards for oral performances at school. Keywords: elective course, rhetoric, pedagogy, didactics, primary school IZKUŠNJE S POUČEVANJEM RETORIKE KOT IZBIRNEGA PREDMETA V OSNOVNI ŠOLI Avtorica v članku predstavlja svoje 16-letne izkušnje s poučevanjem retorike v osnovni šoli. Opisuje didaktične izzive, nato pa predstavi, zakaj je pouk retorike v OŠ nujen in kako lahko učitelj retorike s svojim znanjem koristi tudi drugim učiteljem ter omogoča povezovanje po vertikali in poenotenje meril za govorno nastopanje v šoli. Ključne besede: izbirni predmete, retorika, pedagogika, didaktika, osnovna šola 196 O avtorjih About authors Petra Aczél is a full professor of communication and rhetoric at Corvinus University of Budapest and the head of the Institute of Behavioural Science and Communication Theory, as well as a member of the Social Communication Doctoral School. She studied at Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest, earned her PhD degree in 2003, and gave her habilitation lecture in 2011. She was appointed as a full professor in 2016. Her research interests are focused on the theory and practice of rhetoric, science communication, new media and media literacy. She is an author of four books, has co-authored four books and has published more than 200 publications on verbal and visual communication, rhetoric, (new) media communication and media literacy. She is the chair and a member of five editorial boards of Hungarian and international periodicals and holds memberships in Hungarian and international communication associations. Petra Aczél je redna profesorica komunikacijskih ved in retorike na univerzi Corvinus v Budimpešti, vodja Inštituta za vedenjsko znanost in komunikacijsko teorijo ter članica doktorske šole za Družbeno komunikacijo. Študirala je na univerzi Eotvos Lorand v Budimpešti, leta 2003 je doktorirala, leta 2011 je imela javno nastopno predavanje. Leta 2016 je bila imenovana za redno profesorico. Njeni raziskovalni interesi so usmerjeni v teorijo in prakso retorike, komunikacijo v znanosti, nove medije in v medijsko pismenost. Je avtorica štirih in soavtorica drugih štirih knjig, objavila je več kot 200 člankov o verbalni in vizualni komunikaciji, retoriki, komunika- 197 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXX, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 ciji v (novih) medijih in medijski pismenosti. Kot predsednica in članica deluje v petih uredniških odborih madžarske in mednarodne periodike, prav tako je članica madžarskih in mednarodnih podjetniških združenj. Marinko Banjac is an assistant professor at the chair of theoretical political science, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana. His research interests are political theories, citizenship theory, democracy and citizenship education. His work has been published in national and international scientific journals. Marinko Banjac je docent v okviru katedre za teoretsko politologijo na Fakulteti za družbene vede (Univerza v Ljubljani). Njegovi raziskovalni interesi so: politična teorija, teorija državljanstva, demokracija in državljanska vzgoja. Njegova dela so publicirana v nacionalnih in mednarodnih znanstvenih revijah. Mojca Cestnik is Professor of Slovenian Language and Sociology. She has been teaching Slovenian in primary schools for more than 20 years and elective courses in rhetoric for 16 years. She has presented her didactic experiences in teaching rhetoric to other teachers at multiple seminars organized by Educational Research Institute. Mojca Cestnik je profesorica slovenščine in sociologije. V osnovni šoli že več kot 20 let uči slovenščino ter 16 let izbirni predmet retoriko. Na izobraževanjih, ki jih je organiziral Pedagoški inštitut, je drugim učiteljicam in učiteljem predstavljala svoje didaktične izkušnje pri poučevanju retorike. Diego Cortés studied economics at the University of Hamburg and is currently working on his PhD in applied microeconometrics at the University of Mainz. He is currently working at the IEA in Hamburg as a Research Analyst (statistician). He is involved in all sampling related tasks for the International Civic and Citizenship Study 2022. His main research focus is on how to use large-scale assessment in education to answer questions relevant to developmental economics. He also has a strong interest in survey methodology and econometric methods for causal inference. 198 o AVTORJIH ■ ABOUT AUTHORS Diego Cortés je študiral ekonomijo na Univerzi v Hamburgu in pripravlja doktorat iz uporabne mikroekonometrije na Univerzi v Mainzu. Trenutno je zaposlen pri IEA v Hamburgu kot raziskovalec (statistik). Vključen je v vse aktivnosti, povezane z vzorčenjem za Mednarodno raziskavo državljanske vzgoje in izobraževanja (ICCS) 2022. Njegovo raziskovalno področje je uporaba obsežnih baz podatkov v izobraževanju pri vprašanjih, ki so relevantna za razvojno ekonomijo. Zanima se tudi za metodologijo raziskovanja in ekonometrične metode za kavzalno zaključevanje. Foteini Egglezou is an adjunct professor at the Hellenic Open University (HOU), educational coordinator at the Regional Directorate of Primary and Secondary Education of Attica and President of the Hellenic Institute of Rhetorical and Communication Studies (HIRCS). She acquired her Ph.D. degree in the teaching of argumentation and rhetoric at the University of Ioannina. Her research interests are focused on the theory and practice of argumentation and rhetoric in education for the development of students' critical and creative thinking. She is an author of one book and numerous essays on the teaching of argumentation, debate and rhetoric in school practice. Finally, since October 2018 she has been the coordinator of the European research project Erasmus+ KA2 "Oxford Debates for Youths in Science Education" in Greece. Foteini Egglezou je pridružena predavateljica na Hellenic Open University (HOU), koor-dinatorica za izobraževanje pri Regionalnem direktoratu za osnovno in srednješolsko izobraževanje Atike in predsednica Helenskega inštituta za retorične in komunikacijske študije (HIRCS). Doktorirala je iz poučevanja argumentacije in retorike na Univerzi v Ioanini. V raziskovanju se osredinja na teorijo ter prakso argumentacije in retorike v izobraževanju za razvoj kritičnega in ustvarjalnega mišljenja. Je avtorica ene knjige in številnih esejev o poučevanju argumentacije, debate in retorike v šolski praksi. Od oktobra 2018 je v Grčiji koordinatorica evropskega raziskovalnega projekta Erasmus + KA2 »Oxfordske debate za mlade v naravoslovnem izobraževanju«. Ines Elezovic is currently employed at the National Centre for External Evaluation of Education and is the national research coordinator for IEA ICCS, PIRLS and TIMSS studies in the Republic of Croatia. She has been one of per- 199 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXX, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 manent researchers on the national assessments of experimental programs since 2008, focusing on cross-curricular contents such as Civic and Citizenship Education, Health Education and Entrepreneurship in elementary and secondary schools. Her professional background originated from the area of sociology of education and cooperation with the Research and Education Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Citizenship, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities at the University of Zagreb. Currently she is active in international large scale assessments and educational policy analysis. Ines Elezovic je trenutno zaposlena v Nacionalnem centru eksterne evalvacije v izobraževanju. Je nacionalna raziskovalna koordinatorica IEA ICCS, PIRLS in TIMSS za Hrvaško. Od leta 2008 je bila stalna raziskovalka nacionalnega preverjanja eksperimentalnih programov, zlasti za medpredmetne vsebine, kot so državljanska vzgoja in izobraževanje, zdravstvena vzgoja in podjetništvo v osnovnih in srednjih šolah. Njeno strokovno znanje izvira iz področja sociologije izobraževanja in sodelovanja z Raziskovalno-iz-obraževalnim centrom za človekove pravice in demokratično državljanstvo, Fakulteto za družbene in humanistične vede Univerze v Zagrebu. Trenutno je dejavna pri obsežnih mednarodnih raziskavah znanja in analizi izobraževalnih politik. Špela Javornik has been a young researcher at the Educational Research Institute in Ljubljana since January 2019. She graduated from the Faculty of Social Sciences in the field of Analytical Sociology. She holds a master's degree in social work in the field of family social work. In 2018, she completed an internship and she completed a professional exam for Social work. Her main research interests are the sociology of education, civic and citizenship education and family background. Špela Javornik je od januarja 2019 mlada raziskovalka na Pedagoškem inštitutu v Ljubljani. Diplomirala je na Fakulteti za družbene vede, smer Analitska sociologija. Magisterij ima iz socialnega dela, smer Delo z družino. Leta 2018 je opravila pripravništvo za socialno delavko in strokovni izpit iz socialnega varstva. Njena glavna raziskovalna zanimanja so sociologija izobraževanja, državljanska vzgoja in državljanstvo in družinsko ozadje. 200 o AVTORJIH ■ ABOUT AUTHORS Plamen Mirazchiyski holds a master's and PhD degree in Social Pedagogy and has a Bachelor's degree in Pre-school and Primary Education. Since 2008, Plamen has been employed at the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement - Data Processing and Research Centre in Hamburg (Germany), where he was the Deputy Head of the Research and Analysis Unit for three years. Since the end of 2016, he has been a research fellow at the Educational Research Institute (Slovenia). His main research interests are reading literacy, mathematics and science education, civic and citizenship education, ICT in education, methodology of large-scale assessments and psychometrics. Plamen is also partly employed at the International Educational Research and Evaluation Institute (INERI). Plamen Mirazchiyski ima magisterij in doktorat iz socialne pedagogike, diplomiral pa je iz predšolske in osnovnošolske vzgoje. Od leta 2008 je bil Plamen zaposlen v Mednarodni zvezi za evalvacijo izobraževalnih dosežkov - Center za raziskave in obdelavo podatkov v Hamburgu (Nemčija), kjer je bil tri leta namestnik vodje enote za raziskave in analize. Od leta 2016 je znanstveni sodelavec na Pedagoškem inštitutu (Slovenija). Njegova glavna raziskovalna zanimanja so bralna pismenost, izobraževanje v matematiki in naravoslovju, državljanska vzgoja in državljanstvo, IKT v izobraževanju, metodologija obsežnih ocenjevanj in psihometrija. Plamen je delno zaposlen tudi v Mednarodnem inštitutu za raziskave in evalvacije v izobraževanju (INERI). Mojca Rožman is currently working at the IEA in Hamburg as a Research Analyst. She holds a PhD in Statistics for Social Sciences (thesis title: "Effect of sample composition in the estimation of item parameters and proficiency estimation in international large-scale assessments"). In the past, she has contributed to the questionnaire development for PISA 2018 and to different IEA studies conducted in Slovenia (TIMSS, PIRLS, TALIS, SITES). She is interested in the methodology and secondary analyses of international large-scale assessments. Mojca Rožman je zaposlena pri IEA kot raziskovalka v oddelku za raziskovanje in analize. Doktorirala je na področju družboslovne statistike (naslov dela: Učinek sestave vzorca pri ocenjevanju parametrov postavk in dosežkov v mednarodnih raziskavah znanja). V preteklosti je sodelovala pri razvoju vprašal- 201 ŠOLSKO POLJE, LETNIK XXX, ŠTEVILKA 5-6 nikov za raziskavo PISA 2018 ter pri različnih IEA študijah, izvedenih v Sloveniji (TIMSS, PIRLS, TALIS, SITES). Zanimajo jo metodologija in sekundarne analize obsežnih baz podatkov. Nada Trunk Širca has a Ph.D. in Management in Education from Manchester Metropolitan University, UK. Currently she is working as a researcher at the University ofPrimorska and as a professor and advisor to the dean at the International School for Social and Business Studies. She has international experience in research projects, she is also a conference chair for http://make-learn.mfdps.si/ as well as EIC of Human Systems Management, https:// www.iospress.nl/journal/human-systems-management/. Her research and teaching fields include management in tertiary education, managing non-profit organization, research methodology, quality and evaluations in tertiary education, the recognition of knowledge and lifelong learning. Nada Trunk Širca je doktorirala iz menedžmenta v izobraževanju na univerzi Manchester Metropolitan (Velika Britanija). Trenutno deluje kot raziskovalka na Univerzi na Primorskem in kot profesorica ter svetovalka dekana na Mednarodni fakulteti za družbene in poslovne študije. Ima mednarodne izkušnje na področju raziskovalnih projektov, je konferenčna predsednica http://makelearn.mfdps.si/ in EIC za upravljanje s človeškimi sistemi, https://www.iospress.nl/journal/human-systems-management/. Njena področja raziskav in poučevanja vključujejo upravljanje v visokem šolstvu, vodenje neprofitne organizacije, metodologijo raziskovanja, kakovost in vrednotenje v terciarnem izobraževanju, priznavanje znanja in vseživljenj-sko učenje. Igor Ž. Žagar studied philosophy, sociology and linguistics in Ljubljana, Paris, and Antwerp. He received his doctoral degree in Sociology of Culture from the University of Ljubljana. He is Professor of Rhetoric and Argumentation (University of Primorska & University of Maribor), Senior Research Fellow (Head of the Centre for Discourse Studies) at the Educational Research Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia, and currently also its director. He has lectured in Belgium, United States, Italy, China, United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Spain, Russia, Romania, Poland, France, and Taiwan. Žagar is especially interested in pragmatics (speech act theory, (critical) discourse analysis), philosophy of language, argumentation, and rhetoric. He is the (co)author and (co)editor of twelve books, more than a hundred 202 o AVTORJIH ■ ABOUT AUTHORS articles, and a member of several editorial boards (Research in Language, Res Rhetorica, Ontario Studies in Argumentation, Rhetoric Society of Europe ...). Igor Ž. Žagar je študiral filozofijo, sociologijo in lingvistiko na univerzah v Ljubljani, Parizu in Antwerpnu. Doktoriral je iz sociologije kulture na Univerzi v Ljubljani. Je redni profesor retorike in argumentacije (Univerza na Primorskem), znanstveni svetnik (predstojnik Centra za diskurzivne študije) na Pedagoškem inštitutu v Ljubljani in trenutno tudi njegov direktor. Predaval je na univerzah v Belgiji, Združenih državah Amerike, Italiji, na Kitajskem, Tajvanu, Nizozemskem, v Združenem kraljestvu, Španiji, Rusiji, Romuniji in na Poljskem. Žagar se ukvarja predvsem s pragmatiko (teorija govornih dejanj, (kritična) analiza diskurza), filozofijo jezika, argumentacijo in retoriko. Je (so)avtor in (so)urednik petnajstih knjig in preko sto člankov ter član številnih uredniških odborov (Research in Language, Res Rhetorica, Ontario Studies in Argumentation, Rhetoric Society of Europe ...). 203 Navodila avtorjem/-icam člankov v reviji Šolsko polje Članek (praviloma v obsegu od 7000 do največ 10.000 besed) naj ima na začetku: 1) naslov ter ime in priimek avtorja/-ice; 2) povzetek v slovenskem in angleškem jeziku, do 300 do 350 besed; 3) ključne besede v slovenščini in angleščini (do 5); 4) kratko predstavitev avtorja/-ice (do 100 besed v slovenščini in angleščini), navedena naj bo tudi organizacija zaposlitve. Prispevki naj bodo napisani v knjižni slovenščini ob upoštevanju veljavnega pravopisa, v nasprotnem primeru si uredništvo pridržuje pravico, da članka ne recenzira oziroma ga zavrne. Če je prispevek že bil objavljen v kaki drugi reviji ali če čaka na objavo, je treba to izrecno navesti. Prispevek naj ima dvojni medvrstični razmik, tip črk naj bo Times New Roman, velikost 12 pik (v opombah 10). Besedilo naj bo levo poravnano, strani pa zaporedno oštevilčene. Odstavki naj bodož ločeni s prazno vrstico. Uporabiti je mogoče tri hierarhične nivoje podnaslovov, ki naj bodo oštevilčeni (uporabljajte izključno navaden slog, v prelomu bodo ravni ločene tipografsko): 1. - 1.1 -1.1.1 Za poudarke uporabite izključno ležeči tisk(v primeru jezikoslovnih besedil, kjer so primeri praviloma v ležečem tisku, lahko za poudarke izjemoma uporabite polkrepki tisk). Ležeče pišite tudi besede v tujih jezikih. Raba drugih tipografskih rezov (podčrtano, velike male črke, krepko kurzivno ...) ni dovoljena. Ne uporabljajte dvojnih presledkov, prav tako ne uporabljajte preslednice za poravnavo besedila. Edina oblika odstavka, ki je dovoljena, je odstavek z levo poravnavo brez rabe tabulatorjev prve ali katerekoli druge vrstice v ostavku (ne uporabljajte sredinske, obojestranske ali desne poravnave odstavkov). Oglate oklepaje uporabljajte izključno za fonetične zapise oz. zapise izgovarjave. Tri pike so stične le, če označujejo prekinjeno bese... Pri nedokončani misli so tri pike nestične in nedeljive ... Prosimo, da izključite funkcijo deljenja besed. Sprotne opombe naj bodo samooštevilčene (številke so levostično za besedo ali ločilom - če besedi, na katero se opomba nanaša, sledi ločilo) in uvrščene na tekočo stran besedila. Citati v besedilu naj bodo označeni z dvojnimi, citati znotraj citatov pa z enojnimi narekovaji. Izpuste iz citatov in prilagoditve označite s tropičjem znotraj poševnic /.../. Daljše citate (več kot 5 vrstic) izločite v samostojne odstavke, ki jih od ostalega besedila ločite z izpustom vrstice in umikom v desno. Vir citata označite v okroglem oklepaju na koncu citata: (Benjamin, 1974: str. 42). Če je avtor/-ica naveden/-a v sobesedilu, priimek lahko izpustite. V besedilu označite najprimernejša mesta za likovno opremo (tabele, skice, grafikone itd.) po zgledu: [Tabela 1 približno tukaj]. Posamezne enote opreme priložite vsako v posebni datoteki (v .eps, .ai, .tif ali .jpg formatu, minimalna resolucija 300 dpi). Naslov tabele je nad tabelo, naslov grafa pa pod grafom. Prostor, ki ga oprema v prispevku zasede, se šteje v obseg besedila, bodisi kot 250 besed (pol strani) ali 500 besed (cela stran). Na vir v besedilu se sklicujte takole: (Ducrot, 1988). Stran navedka navedite za dvopičjem: (Foucault, 1991: str. 57). Če so trije avtorji/-ice navedenega dela, navedite vse tri: Bradbury, Boyle in Morse (2002), pri večjem številu pa izpišite le prvo ime: (Taylor et al., 1978). Dela enega avtorja/-ice, ki so izšla istega leta, med seboj ločite z dodajanjem malih črk (a, b, c itn.), stično ob letnici izida: (Bourdieu, 1996a). Dela različnih avtorjev/-ic, ki se vsa nanašajo na isto vsebino, naštejte po abecednem redu in jih ločite s podpičjem: (Haraway, 1999; Oakley, 2005; Ramazanoglu, 2002). Pri večkrat zaporedoma citiranih delih uporabite tole: (ibid.). V članku uporabljena dela morajo biti po abecedi navedena na koncu, pod naslovom Literatura. Če so bili v prispevku uporabljeni viri, se seznam virov, pod naslovom Viri, uredi posebej. Če je naslovov spletnih strani več, se lahko navedejo tudi v posebnem seznamu z naslovom Spletne strani. Pri navedbi spletne strani se v oklepaju dopiše datum dostopa. Vsako enoto v teh seznamih zaključuje pika. Način navedbe enot je naslednji: Knjige: Bradbury, I., Boyle, J., in Morse, A. (2002) ScientificPrinciplesforPhysical Geographers. Harlow: Prentice Hall. Garber, M. (1999) Symptoms of Culture. Harmondsworth: Penguin. Članki: Kerr, D. (1999b) Changing the political culture: the advisory group on education for citizenship and the teaching of democracy in schools. OxfordP^eview of Education 25 (4), str. 25-35. Poglavja v knjigi: Walzer, M. (1992) The Civil Society Argument. V MOUFFE, Ch. (ur.). Dimensions of Radical Democracy: Pluralism, Citizenship and Community. London: Routledge. Spletne strani: http://www.cahiers-pedagogiques.com/article.php3?id_article=88i (pridobljeno 5. 5. 2008). O morebitnih drugih posebnostih se posvetujte z uredništvom. Naslov uredništva: Šolsko polje, Mestni trg 17, 1000 Ljubljana; tel.: 01 4201 240, fax: 01 4201 266, e-pošta: info@theschoolfield.com; mitja.sardoc@guest.arnes.si Naročilo na revijo: Šolsko polje, Slovensko društvo raziskovalcev šolskega polja, Mestni trg 17, 1000 Ljubljana, e-pošta: mitja.sardoc@guest.arnes.si; tel.: 01 420 12 53, fax: 01 420 12 66 Guidelines to the authors The submission of an article to the Šolsko polje journal should be between 7.000 to 10.000 words long. At the beginning it should include - the authors name and address; - a summary in both Slovene and English (from 300 to 350 words); - 5 keywords in both Slovene and English; - a short presentation ofthe author in both Slovene and English (each ofup to 100 words) including his/ her institutional affiliation. The submission should be accompanied by a statement that the submission is not being considered for publication in any other journal or book collection. The spacing of the article should be double spaced, the font Times New Roman (size 12 in the main text and size 10 in the footnotes). Paragraphs should be indicated using an empty row. There are three types ofhierarchical subheadings, which should be numbered as follows: For emphasis, use italics only. Words in a foreign language should also be italicized. Use self-numbered footnotes. Double quotations marks should be used for quotes in the text and single quotation marks for quotes within quotes. Longer quotations (more than 5 lines) should be extracted in separate paragraphs and separated from the rest ofthe text by omitting the rows and by having an indentation to the right. The source ofthe quotation should be in round brackets at the end of the quotation, e.g. (Benjamin, 1974, pp. 42-44). Please mark in the text the place where a graphic product (tables, diagrams, charts, etc..) should be included, e.g. [Table 1 about here]. These products should be attached in a separate file (in eps, ai, tif' or 'jpg' format [300 dpi resolution]). The table title should be above the relevant table or the graph. The source in the text should be referred to as follows: (Ducrot, 1988). Please quote the page for a: (Foucault, 1991, p. 57). If there are three authors, please refer as (Bradbury, Boyle and Morse, 2002) or (Taylor et al., 1978) for four or more authors. For the works of an author that were published in the same year, distinguish between them by adding small letters (a, b, c, etc.), e.g. (Bourdieu, 1996a). Repeatedly cited works should use the following: (ibid.). Please, use the following style for each of publication: Books: Bradbury, I., Boyle, J., and Morse, A. (2002) Scientific Principles for Physical Geographers. Harlow: Prentice Hall. Garber, M. (1999) Symptoms ofCulture. Harmondsworth: Penguin. Journal Articles: Kerr, D. (1999b) Changing the political culture: the advisory group on education for citizenship and the teaching of democracy in schools. Oxford Review of Education. 25 (1-2), pp. 25-35. Book chapters: Walzer, M. (1992) The Civil Society Argument. In: Mouffe, Ch. (ed.). Dimensions ofRadical Democracy: Pluralism, Citizenship and Community. London: Routledge. Websites: http://www.cahiers-pedagogiques.com/article.php3?id_article=88i (5. 5. 2008). Šolsko polje, Mestni trg 17, 1000 Ljubljana; tel.: 01 4201 240, fax: 01 4201 266, e-pošta: info@theschoolfield.com; mitja.sardoc@guest.arnes.si Šolsko polje, Slovensko društvo raziskovalcev šolskega polja, Mestni trg 17, 1000 Ljubljana, e-pošta: mitja.sardoc@guest.arnes.si; tel.: 01 420 12 53, fax: 01 420 12 66 Šolsko polje Revija za teorijo in raziskave vzgoje in izobraževanja Letnik XXX, številka 5-6, 2019 Janja Zmavc and Plamen Mirazchiyski 5 Civic, citizenship and rhetorical education in a rapidly changing world CIVIC AND CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION Ines Elezovic 15 Civic and citizenship education in the Republic of Croatia: 20 years of implementation Marinko Banjac 37 Knowledge on political participation among basic school pupils: A look at the results from the National Assessment of Knowledge in the course Patriotic and Citizenship Culture and Ethics in the 2018/2019 School Year Mojca Rozman and Diego Cortés 63 Expected political participation and demographic changes in Europe Spela Javornik, Plamen Mirazchiyski and Nada Trunk Sirca 79 Bullying of eighth graders in Slovenian primary schools (Secondary analysis of ICCS 2016) RHETORICAL EDUCATION Foteini Egglezou 101 Debate at the Edge of Critical Pedagogy and Rhetorical Paideia. Cultivating Active Citizens Petra Aczel 121 A Road to Rhetorica: Teaching Rhetoric as Social Sensitivity and Behaviour Igor Ž. Žagar 141 Slovenian Experience with Rhetoric in Primary Schools Mojca Cestnik 159 Experiences in Teaching Rhetoric as an Elective Course in Primary School CENA: 10 EUR ISSN 1581-6036 < "1581 "6030" >